Mass Spectrometric Methods for Determination of Cannabinoids in Physiological Specimens

This chapter describes the published mass spectrometric (MS) methods that have proven most effective for quantitative measurement of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and its major metabolites in physiological specimens. Because determination of 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THCA) in urine continues to be the most frequently used indicator of marijuana use, the first portion of the chapter will discuss methods for measurement of THCA in urine. However, the major portion of the chapter is devoted to the most recent developments for measuring THC and its metabolites in other biological specimens including blood, plasma, meconium, oral fluids, hair, and other tissues. Table 1–7 are designed to facilitate location of references describing analytical methods involving key components for analysis of cannabinoids in various matrices.