Hemp

Applications of a quantitative mid-infrared spectrometer for hemp farmers, hemp extractors, state regulators, and law enforcement are discussed.

The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, announced the establishment of the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program on October 29, 2019.  

Here we look at different sources of potential contamination exposure that may be of concern to both the cannabis industry and the cannabis consumer.

A number of causes of hemp testing insanity are documented such as different states using different THC measures to determine legality, lack of representative sampling, and more.

So much is going on in the industry today that researchers are gearing up for more access to the plant, more potential lab discoveries, and better science to truly uncover the secrets of the cannabis plant and find out more about what the plant has to offer.

In this installment of “Cannabis Crossroads,” we take a closer look at the hemp revolution, and more specifically, academic hemp research.

A primary impediment to cannabinoid research is the fact that materials possessing psychoactive Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are considered Schedule I drugs as defined in the U.S. Controlled Substances Act. An alternative source of cannabinoids may be found in hemp oil extracts. Hemp contains a low percentage of THC by weight but relatively high amounts of nonpsychoactive cannabinoids. The liquid chromatography–time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC–TOF-MS) method presented herein allows for the accurate, precise, and robust speciation, profiling, and quantification of cannabinoids in hemp oil extracts and commercial cannabinoid products for research and development laboratories. The method was determined to chromatographically separate 11 cannabinoids including differentiation of Δ8-tetrahdrocannabinol and THC with excellent linear dynamic range, specificity, and sensitivity.