Content versus Label Claims in Cannabidiol (CBD)-Containing Products Obtained from Commercial Outlets in the State of Mississippi

Abstract

Products containing cannabidiol (CBD) are now available throughout the United States, but their quality is oftentimes questionable. The CBD and Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content of 25 commercially available hemp oil products, obtained throughout the state of Mississippi, was determined via gas chromatography/flame ionization detection (GC/FID). These products were also analyzed for the presence of synthetic cannabinoids using full scan gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Analytical findings were compared to label claims for CBD content. Product label claims for CBD ranged from no claim to 500 mg per serving; however, marked variability was observed between actual CBD content and claimed quantities. Of the 25 products, only three were within ±20% of label claim. Fifteen were well below the stated claim for CBD; two exceed claims in excess of 50%; and 5 made no claims. In addition, THC content for three products exceeded the 0.3% legal limit. Furthermore, four products—primarily marketed for vaping—were adulterated with synthetic cannabinoids. From this small, but diverse, sampling of hemp-derived merchandise, it appears that most product label claims do not accurately reflect actual CBD content and are fraudulent in that regard. Moreover, products that exceed legal THC levels may jeopardize a consumer’s employment status (i.e. failed “drug test”), while those adulterated with synthetic cannabinoids may subject them to serious adverse health effects. These findings argue strongly for further development of current good manufacturing practices for CBD-containing products and their stringent enforcement.

Keywords:

• cannabidiol
• CBD
• phytocannabinoids
• quality control
• synthetic cannabinoids
• Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol
• THC

Declaration of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

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Notes on contributors

Bill J. Gurley

Bill J. Gurley is a Principal Scientist at the National Center for Natural Products Research at the University of Mississippi, Oxford. His research interests include mechanisms of herb-drug interactions, toxicity of multiple-component herbal dietary supplements, phytochemical modulation of human drug-metabolizing enzymes and drug transport proteins, pharmacokinetics of phytochemicals in humans and botanical supplement use in special populations. Gurley has been conducting pre-clinical and clinical research on botanical dietary supplements for more than 20 years.

Timothy P. Murphy

Timothy P. Murphy is the Laboratory Manager, Responsible Person, and Certifying Scientist at ElSohly Laboratories Incorporated, a National Laboratory Certification Program (NLCP) and College of American Pathologists (CAP) certified analytical forensic drug testing and product development laboratory. He has more than 29 years of experience in the analytical forensic science field and has numerous publications in this area. Mr. Murphy is a member of the Society of Forensic Toxicology and an inspector for the College of American Pathologists Accreditation Program.

Waseem Gul

Dr. Waseem Gul, Ph.D., C.Chem. is the Associate Director of Research at ElSohly Laboratories, Inc. from 2003. He is also an Adjunct Research Scientist at the National Center for Natural Products Research (NCNPR) at the University of Mississippi from 2004. Dr. Gul has over 200 scientific publications, conference presentations, book chapters, and patents related to analytical chemistry and drug discovery. He is a member of the American Chemical Society, Society of Forensic Toxicologists, and Association of the Chemical Profession of Ontario and an affiliate member of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.

Larry A. Walker

Larry A. Walker is Director Emeritus of the National Center for Natural Products Research (NCNPR) at the University of Mississippi. He was trained in pharmacy and pharmacology, and has worked for much of his 38 yr career on natural products drug discovery, pharmacology, toxicology and metabolism. He has been integrally involved in the design and execution of preclinical and early clinical development studies on drugs and natural products.

Mahmoud ElSohly

Mahmoud A. ElSohly is a Research Professor at The National Center for Natural Products Research, and Professor of Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi (UM) and is the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Marijuana Project at UM. He is also the President and Laboratory Director of ElSohly Laboratories Incorporated, an analytical forensic drug testing and product development laboratory. He received his undergraduate and Masters from Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt and his Ph.D. in 1975 from the University of Pittsburgh, School of Pharmacy, Pittsburgh, PA. He has been with the University of Mississippi since 1975 and has been Director of the NIDA Marijuana Project since 1981. He has over 40 years' experience working with the isolation of natural products (notably cannabis secondary metabolites), synthetic, analytical and forensic chemistry. He has more than 30 patents and over 300 publications in these areas of science. Dr. ElSohly is also a member of many professional organizations, such as American Society of Pharmacognosy, American Chemical Society, American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Society of Forensic Toxicology, International Cannabinoids Research Society, International Association of Cannabinoid Medicines, to name a few and have received numerous awards.