title: Cannabinoid disposition in oral fluid after controlled smoked, vaporized, and oral cannabis administration.
abstract: Oral fluid (OF) is an important matrix for monitoring drugs. Smoking cannabis is common, but vaporization and edible consumption also are popular. OF pharmacokinetics are available for controlled smoked cannabis, but few data exist for vaporized and oral routes. Frequent and occasional cannabis smokers were recruited as participants for four dosing sessions including one active (6.9% Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, THC) or placebo cannabis-containing brownie, followed by one active or placebo cigarette, or one active or placebo vaporized cannabis dose. Only one active dose was administered per session. OF was collected before and up to 54 (occasional) or 72 (frequent) h after dosing from cannabis smokers. THC, 11-hydroxy-THC (11-OH-THC), 11-nor-9-carboxy-THC (THCCOOH), tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), cannabidiol (CBD), and cannabigerol (CBG) were quantified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. OF cannabinoid Cmaxoccurred during or immediately after cannabis consumption due to oral mucosa contamination. Significantly greater THC Cmaxand significantly later THCV, CBD, and CBG tlastwere observed after smoked and vaporized cannabis compared to oral cannabis in frequent smokers only. No significant differences in THC, 11-OH-THC, THCV, CBD, or CBG tmaxbetween routes were observed for either group. For occasional smokers, more 11-OH-THC and THCCOOH-positive specimens were observed after oral dosing than after inhaled routes, increasing % positive cannabinoid results and widening metabolite detection windows after oral cannabis consumption. Utilizing 0.3 µg/L THCV and CBG cut-offs resulted in detection windows indicative of recent cannabis intake. OF pharmacokinetics after high potency CBD cannabis are not yet available precluding its use currently as a marker of recent use. Published 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
authors.affiliation: Chemistry and Drug Metabolism Section, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Madeleine J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Swortwood
authors.affiliation: Chemistry and Drug Metabolism Section, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.|Program in Toxicology, University of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Newmeyer
authors.affiliation: Chemistry and Drug Metabolism Section, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.affiliation: Chemistry and Drug Metabolism Section, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Osama A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Abulseoud
authors.affiliation: Chemistry and Drug Metabolism Section, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Karl B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Scheidweiler
authors.affiliation: Chemistry and Drug Metabolism Section, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.|University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Marilyn A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Huestis
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000328:Adult; D002186:Cannabinoids / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D002188:Cannabis / Q000737:chemistry; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D014835:Volatilization; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002186:Cannabinoids
keywords: cannabinoids; edibles; oral fluid; smoking; vaporizer