Measuring Heavy Metal Contaminants In Cannabis And Hemp

The surge of interest in cannabis-based medicinal products has put an extremely high demand on testing capabilities, particularly for contaminants such as heavy metals, which are naturally taken up through the roots of the plants from the soil, growing medium, and fertilizers but can also be negatively impacted by the grinding equipment and extraction/distillation process. Unfortunately, many state regulators do not have the necessary experience and background to fully understand all the safety and toxicological issues regarding the cultivation and production of cannabis and hemp products on the market today. Measuring Heavy Metal Contaminants in Cannabis and Hemp offers a comprehensive guide to the entire cannabis industry for measuring elemental contaminants in cannabis and hemp. For testing labs, it describes fundamental principles and practical capabilities of ICP-MS and other AS techniques for measuring heavy metals in cannabis. For state regulators, it compares maximum contaminant limits of heavy metals with those for federally regulated pharmaceutical materials. For cultivators and processors, it helps them to better understand the many sources of heavy metals in cannabis. And for consumers of medical cannabis, it highlights the importance of choosing cannabis products that are safe to use. Other key topics include: The role of other analytical techniques for the comprehensive testing of cannabis products Tips to optimize analytical procedures to ensure the highest quality data Guidance on how to characterize elemental contaminants in vaping liquids and aerosols Suggestions on how to reduce errors using plasma spectrochemistry The role of certified reference materials to validate standard methods Easy-to-read sections on instrumental hardware components, calibration and measurement protocols, typical interferences, routine maintenance, and troubleshooting procedures Written with the cannabis testing community in mind, this book is also an invaluable resource for growers, cultivators, processors, testers, regulators, and even consumers who are interested in learning more about the potential dangers of heavy metal contaminants in cannabis and hemp.

Recent regulations on heavy metal testing have required the pharmaceutical industry to monitor a suite of elemental impurities in pharmaceutical raw materials, drug products and dietary supplements. These new directives s are described in the new United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Chapters , , and , together with Q3D, Step 4 guidelines for elemental impurities, drafted by the ICH (International Conference on Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use), a consortium of global pharmaceutical associations, including the European Pharmacopeia (Ph.Eur.), the Japanese Pharmacopeia (JP) and the USP. This book provides a complete guide to the analytical methodology, instrumental techniques and sample preparation procedures used for measuring elemental impurities in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical materials. It offers readers the tools to better understand plasma spectrochemistry to optimize detection capability for the full suite of elemental PDE (Permitted Daily Exposure) levels in the various drug delivery categories. Other relevant information covered in the book includes: The complete guide to measuring elemental impurities in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical materials. Covers heavy metals testing in the pharmaceutical industry from an historical perspective. Gives an overview of current USP Chapters and and ICH Q3D Step 4 Guidelines. Explains the purpose of validation protocols used in Chapter , including how J-values are calculated Describes fundamental principles and practical capabilities of ICP-MS and ICP-OES. Offers guidelines about the optimum strategy for risk assessment Provides tips on how best to prepare and present your data for regulatory inspection. An indispensable resource, the fundamental principles and practical benefits of ICP-OES and ICP-MS are covered in a reader-friendly format that a novice, who is carrying out elemental impurities testing in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical communities, will find easy to understand.

This book highlights current Cannabis research: its botany, authentication, biotechnology, in vitro propagation, chemistry, cannabinoids biosynthesis, metabolomics, genomics, biomass production, quality control, and pharmacology. Cannabis sativa L. (Family: Cannabaceae) is one of the oldest sources of fiber, food and medicine. This plant has been of interest to researchers, general public and media not only due to its medicinal properties but also the controversy surrounding its illicit use. Cannabis has a long history of medicinal use in the Middle East and Asia, being first introduced as a medicine in Western Europe in the early 19th century. Due to its numerous natural constituents, Cannabis is considered a chemically complex species. It contains a unique class of terpeno-phenolic compounds (cannabinoids or phytocannabinoids), which have been extensively studied since the discovery of the chemical structure of tetrah ydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), commonly known as THC, the main constituent responsible for the plant’s psychoactive effects. An additionally important cannabinoid of current interest is Cannabidiol (CBD). There has been a significant interest in CBD and CBD oil (extract of CBD rich Cannabis) over the last few years because of its reported activity as an antiepileptic agent, particularly its potential use in the treatment of intractable epilepsy in children.

The globally escalating population necessitates production of more goods and services to fulfil the expanding demands of human beings which resulted in urbanization and industrialization. Uncontrolled industrialization caused two major problems – energy crisis and accelerated environmental pollution throughout the world. Presently, there are technologies which have been proposed or shown to tackle both the problems. Researchers continue to seek more cost effective and environmentally beneficial pathways for problem solving. Plant kingdom comprises of species which have the potential to resolve the couple problem of pollution and energy. Plants are considered as a potential feedstock for development of renewable energy through biofuels. Another important aspect of plants is their capacity to sequester carbon dioxide and absorb, degrade, and stabilize environmental pollutants such as heavy metals, poly-aromatic hydrocarbons, poly-aromatic biphenyls, radioactive materials, and other chemicals. Thus, plants may be used to provide renewable energy generation and pollution mitigation. An approach that could amalgamate the two aspects can be achieved through phytoremediation (using plants to clean up polluted soil and water), and subsequent generation of energy from the phyto-remediator plants. This would be a major advance in achieving sustainability that focuses on optimizing ‘people’ (social issues), ‘planet’ (environmental issues), and ‘profit’ (financial issues). The “Phytoremediation-Cellulosic Biofuels” (PCB) process will be socially beneficial through reducing pollution impacts on people, ecologically beneficial through pollution abatement, and economically viable through providing revenue that supplies an energy source that is renewable and also provides less dependence on importing foreign energy (energy-independence). The utilization of green plants for pollution remediation and energy production will also tackle some other important global concerns like global climate change, ocean acidification, and land degradation through carbon sequestration, reduced emissions of other greenhouse gases, restoration of degraded lands and waters, and more. This book addresses the overall potential of major plants that have the potential to fulfil the dual purposes of phytoremediation and energy generation. The non-edible bioenergy plants that are explored for this dual objective include Jatropha curcas, Ricinus communis, Leucaena leucocephalla, Milletia pinnata, Canabis sativa, Azadirachta indica, and Acacia nilotica. The book addresses all possible aspects of phyto-remediaton and energy generation in a holistic way. The contributors are one of most authoritative experts in the field and have covered and compiled the best content most comprehensively. The book is going to be extremely useful for researchers in the area, research students, academicians and also for policy makers for an inclusive understanding and assessment of potential in plant kingdom to solve the dual problem of energy and pollution.

The Special Issue “Technological Eco-Innovations for the Quality Control and the Decontamination of Polluted Waters and Soils” deals with the most recent research activities carried out at lab and field scale on eco-sustainable tools for the remediation of contaminated environmental substrates. It is particularly devoted to highlight the relevance of biological organisms (plants, microbes, algae) to assess the chemical contamination in water and soil and to remediate such matrices from the pollution caused by the human activities. Therefore, bioremediation is a primary focus of most of the articles published within the present Special Issue. Bioremediation is a promising environmentally friendly technology to deal with the chemical pollution in different ecosystem compartments and its integration with the traditional approaches might represent a significant breakthrough for the environmental decontamination. An overview of the potential of the eco-innovative technologies, with nature-based solutions associated with the modern analytical techniques, is offered along the contributions forming the Special Issue. In this volume, different contaminants occurring in various environmental matrices are focused, both in controlled conditions and on site, with many interesting outcomes useful from research perspectives.

Significant changes have taken place in the policy landscape surrounding cannabis legalization, production, and use. During the past 20 years, 25 states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis and/or cannabidiol (a component of cannabis) for medical conditions or retail sales at the state level and 4 states have legalized both the medical and recreational use of cannabis. These landmark changes in policy have impacted cannabis use patterns and perceived levels of risk. However, despite this changing landscape, evidence regarding the short- and long-term health effects of cannabis use remains elusive. While a myriad of studies have examined cannabis use in all its various forms, often these research conclusions are not appropriately synthesized, translated for, or communicated to policy makers, health care providers, state health officials, or other stakeholders who have been charged with influencing and enacting policies, procedures, and laws related to cannabis use. Unlike other controlled substances such as alcohol or tobacco, no accepted standards for safe use or appropriate dose are available to help guide individuals as they make choices regarding the issues of if, when, where, and how to use cannabis safely and, in regard to therapeutic uses, effectively. Shifting public sentiment, conflicting and impeded scientific research, and legislative battles have fueled the debate about what, if any, harms or benefits can be attributed to the use of cannabis or its derivatives, and this lack of aggregated knowledge has broad public health implications. The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids provides a comprehensive review of scientific evidence related to the health effects and potential therapeutic benefits of cannabis. This report provides a research agendaâ€"outlining gaps in current knowledge and opportunities for providing additional insight into these issuesâ€"that summarizes and prioritizes pressing research needs.

This report considers the biological and behavioral mechanisms that may underlie the pathogenicity of tobacco smoke. Many Surgeon General's reports have considered research findings on mechanisms in assessing the biological plausibility of associations observed in epidemiologic studies. Mechanisms of disease are important because they may provide plausibility, which is one of the guideline criteria for assessing evidence on causation. This report specifically reviews the evidence on the potential mechanisms by which smoking causes diseases and considers whether a mechanism is likely to be operative in the production of human disease by tobacco smoke. This evidence is relevant to understanding how smoking causes disease, to identifying those who may be particularly susceptible, and to assessing the potential risks of tobacco products.

Metal Metabolism in Aquatic Environments is a synthesis of recent developments in the field of metal ecotoxicology and features a number of contemporary issues arising from the interaction of metals and biota, such as pathways of assimilation and food chain transfer, metal accumulation and detoxification in humans and biotransformation of elements such as mercury and arsenic.