Synthetic Cannabis Products Pose Public Risk, Warns Forensic Science Ireland In New Report
Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) released its latest annual report which revealed that cannabis and related cannabinoid products made up 42% of all cases analyzed by the agency in 2023.
In the report, FSI calls cannabis “the Wild West of the Drug Marketplace” saying it is “no longer a homogenous arena and is now a dynamically evolving space with ongoing rapid emergence of a dizzying array of synthetic cannabinoid products.”
Semi-Synthetic Cannabinoids Pose Public Risk
An analysis of 114 sweet cannabis products revealed that only 64% contained the assumed amount of THC – the main psychoactive substance in marijuana. The remaining 36% had a wide range of other synthetic cannabinoids such as MDMB-4en- Pinaca, ADB-Br-Butinaca, ADB-Butinaca, ADB-Pinaca, 5F-EDMB-Pica and HHC.
Hexahydrocannabinol or HHC is a semi-synthetic cannabinoid and a hydrogenated form of THC. It was first manufactured in 1944 by the American chemist Roger Adams. To produce HHC, Adams added hydrogen molecules to delta-9 THC, converting it to tetrahydrocannabinol (HHC). While Adams used THC from cannabis, today’s chemists are using legal THC from hemp as …