Review of analytical methods for identification and quantification of cannabis products

About 100 recently published original papers, reviews, books and other communications concerning cannabis (hashish, marijuana) constituents have been reviewed with the aim of summarizing the status of analytical detection and quantitation. Detailed protocols of standard analytical methods are compared in order to recommend uniform methods for field and forensic samples and also to provide guidance to less experienced analysts in countries where cannabis sativa occurs (T. Maylon.In Big Deal: The Politics of the Illicit Drug Business, the Cannabis Commodity Market, pp. 63-107. Guernsey, London.). Because of its importance, there has been an increasing number of investigations of the chemical, botanical, pharmacological, clinical and sociological aspects of the marijuana (hashish) problem. Since analytical techniques have improved substantially during the last 10 years, many papers have been published containing a variety of methods for detection and quantification of cannabis constituents. Since the analytical situation is becoming increasingly confused and because many of the journals are unavailable in less developed countries, the aim of this paper is to give an overview of existing analytical techniques and to attempt to distinguish practical and effective methods from those which are complex or which provide questionable results.