Delta-8-THC acetate-a prodrug of delta-8-THC?: A case report

This case report describes the concurrent analysis of a seized plant material and a urine sample. The seized plant material was found to contain delta-8-THC acetate, a prodrug of delta-8-THC, as a major component. While the urine sample was found to contain metabolites of delta-8-THC which was disparate with the relative abundance of delta-8-THC detected in the plant material recovered from the suspect. Delta-8-THC acetate in the plant material was fully characterised by GC-MS, LC-Orbitrap-MS and NMR. Metabolism studies using human liver microsomes demonstrated metabolism of delta-8-THC acetate with the concurrent formation of delta-8-THC-COOH as the primary metabolite. The in-vitro findings were consistent with the authentic urine sample, suggesting that detection of delta-8-THC-COOH likely resulted from delta-8-THC-acetate consumption. This work demonstrates the critical role of orthogonal analytical techniques in analysis of controlled substances and emphasises the necessity of accounting for prodrug metabolism when interpreting results from analysis of urine samples.