Over the last few years, use of delta-8 has been rising in popularity in the U.S. for two reasons. The first is that it’s known for giving users a milder high than regular marijuana, and the second is that delta-8 is unregulated at the federal level, which means that it’s legal in most states where cannabis use is still banned. However, because delta-8 products are unregulated, many contain toxic manufacturing by-products that make it more dangerous than delta-9-THC. In light of this, testing for delta-8 is needed to discourage people from taking these contaminated products as a way to circumvent drug tests. Testing is also needed to monitor the spread of delta-8 and to inform public health efforts to craft better regulations for it.
With this in mind, a team of researchers led by Uttam Garg, PhD, of Children’s Mercy, Kansas City and the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, conducted research to see if tests that detect delta-9-THC can also detect delta-8. To do this, Garg’s team spiked negative urine samples with various concentrations of delta-8 (10-50 ng/mL) and analyzed these samples with a standard approach for detecting cannabis use. First, they screened the samples with a commercial cannabinoid immunoassay, then they followed this with confirmatory testing using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).
H/T: www.aacc.org
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