Identification, extraction and quantification of the synthetic cannabinoid JWH-018 from commercially available herbal marijuana alternatives

In this work, methods for the rapid identification, extraction, and quantification of the synthetic cannabinoid, JWH-018, from commercially available “Spice” (a herbal marijuana alternative) are presented. JWH-018 was identified in three different products using time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry coupled with a direct analysis in real time (DART) ionization source, a process that was completed in less then five minutes and required no sample preparation. Extraction of the JWH-018 from the spice samples using an automated accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) instrument provided clean extracts with few plant pigments. Subsequent quantification by isocratic HPLC produced the following results (mg JWH-018/g plant material): Weekend Warrior brand “Hash”: 90 (±3%) mg/g, Weekend Warrior brand “Leaf”: 29 (±6%) mg/g, TrainWreck Hayze brand: 28 (±4%) mg/g. Vegetative samples spiked with JWH-018 gave a recovery of 97% (±1%).