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Form and content of Jamaican cannabis edibles

Abstract

Background:

In 2017, the Jamaican government banned the sale of cannabis-infused edibles after reports of over-intoxication in adults and children. There is a general lack of public awareness regarding the risk involved with edible dosage. Vandrey et al. in 2015 reported that random cannabis edibles sampled from dispensaries in California and Washington in the USA failed to meet the basic labeling standards for pharmaceuticals (Vandrey et al.; JAMA 2015). This study aims to measure the levels of THC and CBD in a variety of edibles available locally in order to establish current cannabinoid content and to report on safety and packaging. This study is deemed necessary as no such study has been done to measure the potency levels of edibles and to raise awareness of the potential risk to children.

Methods:

Forty-five cannabis-infused edible items were collected as convenience samples over a 4-year period (2014–2018) and analyzed. The QuEChERS technique (modified) was used to extract cannabinoids from each item. The extracts were then derivatized with MSTFA prior to analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The descriptive statistics were calculated using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences—SPSS Software. Descriptive statistics presented include the mean, median, standard deviation, and range for each product category. The distribution of data with a box and whisker plot and frequency of THC to CBD ratios with a histogram was also presented.

Results:

Edibles on the Jamaican market comprise baked goods, candies, frozen foods, and beverages. Eighty-six percent of samples were poorly labeled and failed to meet basic labeling requirements. None of the packages were observed to be child-proof. THC levels ranged from 0.01 to 99.9 mg per product while CBD levels ranged from 0.001 to 69.2 mg per product. The highest THC and CBD levels were detected in cookies and brownies. Thirty percent of the samples had THC levels greater than the recommended 10 mg THC per serving.

Conclusion:

The lack of proper labeling and the wide range of THC levels in cannabis edibles raises public health concerns for all consumers including inexperienced persons who may be at a greater risk of overdosing. Concern must also be raised over the possibility that the attractive and tasty ways in which the drug is being presented might tempt young children and teens to take cannabis.

Impact statement

It is hoped that this information will raise public awareness of the current potential danger these edibles pose to children and inexperienced users and that policymakers will see the need for the imposition of suitable regulations.

Article type: Research Article

Keywords: Cannabis use, Edibles, Labeling, Safety, Potency, Jamaica

Authors: Carole M. Lindsay ⚬, Wendel D. Abel, Erica E. Jones-Edwards, Paul D. Brown, Khalia K. Bernard, Tainia T. Taylor

Affiliations: grid.12916.3d0000 0001 2322 4996Faculty of Medical Sciences Teaching and Research Complex (FMSTRC), University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica; grid.12916.3d0000 0001 2322 4996Department of Community Health and Psychiatry, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica

License: © The Author(s) 2021 CC BY 4.0 Open AccessThis article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Article links: DOI: 10.1186/s42238-021-00079-9  |  PubMed: 34243817  |  PMC: PMC8272381

Relevance: Relevant: mentioned in keywords or abstract

Full text: PDF (906 KB)

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