An assessment of solvent residue contaminants related to cannabis-based products in the South African market.

Organic solvents are used for manufacturing herbal medicines and can be detected as residues of such processing in the final products. It is important for the safety of consumers to control these solvent residues. South African cannabis-based product samples were analysed for solvent residue contaminants as classified by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), chapter 467. The origin of these samples ranged anywhere from crude extract, product development samples, and market ready final products. Samples were submitted to a contract laboratory over a period of 2 years from 2019 to 2021. To date, no data of this kind exist in South Africa specifically relating to cannabis-based medicinal, recreational, or complementary products. A total of 279 samples were analysed in duplicate by full evaporation headspace gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry and the results are reported in an anonymised format. The results showed an alarming 37% sample solvent residue failure rate with respect to adherence to USP 467 specification. It is important to ensure regulation is enforced to control product quality. The South African public need to be educated about the risks associated with cannabis-based products.

An assessment of the potency related to Cannabis-based products in the South African market.

It was the aim of this study to analyse a portion of the South African cannabis-based products market and provide a detailed overview of their THC and CBD profiles. To date, no data of this kind exists in South Africa. Samples were submitted to a contract laboratory. A total of 840 samples were analysed in duplicate (1680 datapoints in total) and reported in an anonymous format. Samples were categorised into 7 different types: Edible, Extract, Infusion, Liquid, Other, Plant material, and Solid. Each category was divided into the following weight by percentage concentration levels:<0.1 wt.-%, 0.1 wt.-% to 1 wt.-% and finally>1 wt.-%. Both HPLC-UV, as well as, GC-MS was employed for analysis with the datasets combined. The results indicated that high amounts of THC are present in most of the cannabis-based products in South Africa. This is of concern due to the health implications of these products, and the current South African legislation related to CBD and THC. Medicines and controlled substance regulators as well as the South African public will be informed about the current state of cannabis-based products in South Africa.