Institute of Forensic Medicine, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Addiction Support, Region Basel (Suchthilfe Region Basel), Basel, Switzerland.
Drug Test Anal. 2022 Jun;14(6):1026-1039. doi: 10.1002/dta.3220. Epub 2022 Feb 2.
Since late 2019, low-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) preparations adulterated with synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) have been frequently observed in Switzerland. The unawareness of users concerning the presence of SCs and the typically higher potency and toxicity of SCs, when compared with THC, can result in increased health risks. In Switzerland, low-THC (<1%) cannabis products, except hashish, are legal. These products can act as carrier materials for SCs. In this study, cannabis samples and user self-reports received through three drug checking services were collected and analysed, to gain deeper insight into this new phenomenon. Samples were collected from January 2020 to July 2021. Liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry was used for the qualitative screening and semi-quantification of SCs, while gas chromatography with flame ionization detector was applied for the quantification of THC and cannabidiol levels. Reported adverse effects were compared between users who consumed adulterated (SC-group) and non-adulterated (THC-group) products. Of a total 94 samples, 50% contained up to three different SCs. MDMB-4en-PINACA was most often detected. All adulterated cannabis flowers contained ≤1% THC. Adulterated hashish also typically presented low THC-levels (median: 0.8%). The SC-group was associated with higher numbers of adverse events (p = 0.041). Furthermore, psychologic (p = 0.0007) and cardiologic (p = 0.020) adverse effects were more profound in the SC-group than in the THC-group. Drug checking services enabled the timely detection and monitoring of new and potentially dangerous trends. Furthermore, due to user-reports, additional valuable information was gained on adverse events associated with the consumption of novel SCs.
自 2019 年末以来，瑞士频繁出现低 Δ9-四氢大麻酚（THC）含量并掺有合成大麻素（SCs）的制剂。由于使用者不知道 SCs 的存在，且与 THC 相比，SCs 的效力和毒性通常更高，这可能会增加健康风险。在瑞士，除哈希什外，低 THC（<1%）的大麻制品是合法的。这些产品可以作为 SCs 的载体材料。在这项研究中，通过三个毒品检测服务收集和分析了大麻样本和用户自我报告，以更深入地了解这一新现象。样本采集于 2020 年 1 月至 2021 年 7 月。采用液相色谱-高分辨质谱对 SCs 进行定性筛选和半定量分析，而气相色谱-火焰离子化检测器则用于 THC 和大麻二酚含量的定量分析。比较了吸食掺杂物（SC 组）和非掺杂物（THC 组）产品的使用者报告的不良反应。在总共 94 个样本中，有 50%含有多达三种不同的 SC。MDMB-4en-PINACA 是最常检测到的。所有掺杂物大麻花都含有≤1%的 THC。掺杂物哈希什通常也呈现低 THC 水平（中位数：0.8%）。SC 组与更多的不良事件相关（p=0.041）。此外，SC 组比 THC 组出现更多的心理（p=0.0007）和心脏不良事件（p=0.020）。毒品检测服务使新的和潜在危险趋势能够及时被发现和监测。此外，由于用户报告，还获得了与使用新型 SC 相关的不良事件的更多有价值的信息。
