Cannabis analysis

2.  What are Hallucinogens?
 Introduction about Cannabis
 History
 Occurrence
 Various preparations
 Active components
 Routes of administration
 Analysis of cannabis drug
 References

3.  These are the drugs that can cause marked alterations in
normal thought processes, perceptions and moods.
 Examples of hallucinogens are Cannabis, LSD & PCP etc.

4.  Cannabis is a weed that grows wild under most climatic
conditions.
 The plant grows to the height of 5 to 15 feet and is
characterized by an odd number of leaflets on each leaf.
 Cannabis drug is also commonly called as marijuana, pot,
herb, MJ, boom, gangster etc.

5.  The cultivation of cannabis was originated in central Asia.
 About 2700 B.C. ago Chinese emperor Shen Nung,
recommended its consumption, first time, for medicinal
purpose.
 He recommended it for treatment of female sickness,
malaria, beriberi, constipation and absent mindedness.
 It was introduced into United States first time in 1920.

6.  Cannabis is mainly derived from plant species cannabis
sativa
 It can also be derived from other two species, cannabis
indica and cannabis ruderalis.
 cannabis sativa was originally cultivated for its fibers but
later on it was used for illegal preparation of psychoactive
substances.

7.  cannnabis indica was just grown for psychoactive
substances.
 cannabis ruderalis is found only in the USSR and
surrounding area.
Cannabis sativa

8. 1. Herbal
preparation
2. Resin
preparation
3. Liquid
preparation
From a cannabis plant by using different plant products
we can obtain three types of preparations...........

9.  In this type we use leaves, fruiting and flowering tops of
the plant, which contains a good amount of psychoactive
constituents.
 These parts of the plant are stripped
from main plant and then these are
allowed to air dry.
 After that these are highly compressed to make blocks.
 Sinsemillia and Bhang is a famous herbal preparation.

10.  Flowers, stem and leaves of cannabis plant secrete some
sticky substance, called as resin.
 Product can be prepared by two processes:
1. Threshing process
2. Rubbing / Kneading process
 Resinous material can also be extracted from plant by
soaking it in some solvent such as alcohol or even in
boiling water.

11.  Hashish / Charas and Ganja is the main resin preparation
of this plant.
Hashish Ganja

12.  It is a liquid extract of either herbal cannabis material or
of cannabis resin.
 The main liquid preparation is
hashish oil.
 It is obtained by extraction process.
 Material used for extraction process is boiling flask, the
extraction container and condenser.

13.  There are more then 20 active components in cannabis
preparations which are collectively called as cannabinoids.
 The main three active components are:
1. THC
2. CBN
3. CBD
Structure of THC

14.  It varies in different plant components in following
manner:
resin >flower > leaves > seed > stem > root
 THC concentration is also different in three preparations
Herbal preparation - 1.5%
Resin preparation - 3.5%
Liquid preparation - 20-65%

15.  cannabis drug can be introduced into body through two ways:
1. By Inhalation
2. By Oral
Consumption

16. At low dose
Euphoria
Paranoia
Hallucination
Laid back attitude
At high dose
 Dryness of mouth
 Redness of eyes
 Impaired motor skills &
memory functions
 lapse of attention

17.  Increased heart rate
 Short term memory
 Suppresses immune system
 Decreased sperm count
 Impaired fetal development &growth
 Can lead to asthma and bronchitis

19.  Take small amount of suspected material on a microscopic
slide
 Crush it properly with the help of fine needle.
 Put a drop of dil. NaOH solution over it.
 After that put a cover slip over it and observe under
microscope.
Observation: check presence or absence of Trichomes.

20.  Trichomes: these are the microscopic features found on
the surface of fruiting and flowering tops of cannabis
plant.

21. 1. Duquenois-levine
test
2. Fast blue B salt
test :
Two tests are performed:

22. Reagents required are:
Solution A : A mixture of 2% vanillin and 1%
acetaldehyde in ethyl alcohol
Solution B : Concentrated HCl
Solution C : Chloroform
Result: Appearance of purple color in chloroform layer
indicates the presence of cannabis.

23. Reagents required are:
solid reagent : dilute and mix Fast Blue B salt with
anhydrous sodium sulphate.(1:100)
solution A : petroleum ether
solution B : 10% aqueous solution of sodium
bicarbonate.
Result: Appearance of purple red color on the filter paper
indicates the presence of cannabis product.

24. Stationary phase : Activated Silica gel
Solvent system : Petroleum ether and Diethyl
ether ( 80 : 20 )
Visualization : Fast blue B salt

25.  GC - MS
 HPLC - MS
 U.V./ visible spectroscopy

26. Reagents required are:
Reagent 1 : p-Aminophenol (1mg) in ethanol (10 ml)
Reagent 2: Caustic potash (1gm) in distilled water.(10ml)

27. Procedure:
 Extract the suspected material in ethanol.
 Take small amount of material in a test tube.
 Add 2 drops of reagent 1 into it.
 Mix it thoroughly.
 Then add 2 drops of reagent 2.
result : green color indicates presence of Bhang.
blue color indicates presence of Ganja.
violet color indicates presence of Charas.

28.  Saferstein Richard : Forensic Science Handbook VOL 2 ,
published by Prentice Hall ; Page no.(87-92)
 U.N. Manual : Recommended Methods For Testing Cannabis
 D.F.S. Manual : Working Procedure Manual On Narcotics &
Psychotropic Substance (2005) ; Page no.(33-40)
 Wikipedia – Cannabis ( Drug)
 www.cannabis.net
 www.knowcannabis.org.uk
 www.people.uncw.edu
 www.worldofteaching.com