Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Boumrah, Yacine
• Kermouche, Wissam
• Zarita, Bouzid
• Drardja, El Djemai
• Bouanani, Sabrina

Titel

Hashish seizures in Algeria over the 2019–2020 period: The rise of potent hashish hybrids

Ist Teil von

• Journal of forensic sciences, 2022-05, Vol.67 (3), p.889-898

Ort / Verlag

United States: Wiley Subscription Services, Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

2022

Quelle

Wiley-Blackwell Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• In Algeria, hashish is by far the most common illicit drug. This study explores Algerian hashish over a two‐year period (2019–2020). A total of 2583 hashish samples from 1707 seizures for a total quantity of 108 tons were analyzed using a validated high‐performance liquid chromatography–diode array detection method (HPLC–DAD). The yearly arithmetic mean tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration shows relative stability—18.67% in 2019 and 19.03% in 2020 with an overall mean THC content of 18.87% and standard deviation of 10.99%. High‐potency hashish (THC content > 20%) is by far the most predominant type, representing almost 50% of the total Algerian hashish seizures (mean and median around 29%). The overall mean of cannabidiol (CBD) was 2.45%, and 12% of the total studied seizures were of very low CBD concentration (CBD content<1%). Three distinct hashish chemotypes were identified: Chemotype I described the traditional Moroccan hashish with THC content ranging from 0% to 16%, Chemotype II hashish included most of the seizures and characterized by THC content ranging from 16% to 30%, and Chemotype III was characterized by hashish potency higher than 30% and very low CBD content. The identified chemotypes I, II, and III were characterized in a ternary plot, and the relative contents (THC:CBD:CBN) were about 67%:29%:4%, 88%:9%:3%, and 96%:2%:2%, respectively.