Δ⁹-Tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ⁹-THC) is usually the primary psychoactive agent in cannabis preparations. Recently, products containing another isomer, Δ⁸-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ⁸-THC), have become available for sale. Δ⁸-THC exists naturally in the cannabis plant at very low concentrations; hence, the Δ⁸-THC present in most of the above-mentioned products is likely to be manufactured synthetically. A surge in popularity of these products, coupled with little oversight to ensure purity and potency, has led to reports of adverse events. Workplace drug testing programs as well as many sporting organizations prohibit the use of cannabinoids. Carboxy-Δ⁹-THC (Δ⁹-THC-COOH) is the targeted urinary metabolite for detection of cannabis use. The proliferation of products containing Δ⁸-THC, which metabolizes to Δ⁸-THC-COOH, presents analytical complexity with respect to separation and quantification of the individual isomers as well as legal complexity with respect to lack of clarity around the legal status of Δ⁸-THC. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of Δ⁸-THC use in the athlete community by monitoring for Δ⁸-THC-COOH in samples collected for antidoping. A high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) method was utilized to resolve Δ⁸ and Δ⁹-THC-COOH. One thousand samples with a presumptive Δ⁹-THC-COOH finding in routine screening were analyzed by the above LC–MS/MS method. Approximately 12% of samples contained Δ⁸-THC-COOH at relative abundances between 5% and 100% of total carboxy-THC content.

中文翻译：

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反兴奋剂样品中羧基-Δ8-四氢大麻酚的存在率

Δ ⁹ -四氢大麻酚（Δ ⁹ -THC）通常是大麻制剂中的主要精神活性剂。最近，含有另一种异构体Δ ⁸ -四氢大麻酚（Δ ⁸ -THC）的产品已上市销售。Δ ⁸ -THC 天然存在于大麻植物中，浓度非常低；因此，上述大多数产品中存在的Δ ^{8 -THC 很可能是合成制造的。}这些产品的受欢迎程度激增，加上缺乏确保纯度和效力的监管，导致了不良事件的报道。工作场所药物测试计划以及许多体育组织禁止使用大麻素。Carboxy-Δ ⁹ -THC (Δ ⁹ -THC-COOH) 是用于检测大麻使用的目标尿液代谢物。^{含有 Δ 8} -THC（代谢为 Δ ⁸ -THC-COOH）的产品激增，导致各个异构体的分离和定量方面的分析复杂性，以及由于 Δ 的法律地位不明确而导致的法律复杂性^8-四氢大麻酚。本研究旨在通过监测反兴奋剂收集样本中的Δ ⁸ -THC-COOH 来估计运动员群体中Δ ⁸ -THC 使用的流行率。采用高效液相色谱串联质谱 (LC-MS/MS) 方法解析 Δ ⁸和 Δ ⁹ -THC-COOH。通过上述 LC-MS/MS 方法分析了在常规筛选中假定存在 Δ ^{9 -THC-COOH 的 1000 个样品。}大约 12% 的样品含有 Δ ⁸ -THC-COOH，其相对丰度在总羧基-THC 含量的 5% 至 100% 之间。