Pharmacokinetic Differences Between Fast-Acting, Standard, and Placebo Cannabis Edibles
Bradley T Conner 1 , Emma E Smith 1 , Samuel M DiCecco 1 , Kira L Sturgess 1 , Hollis C Karoly 2 , Gregory Dooley 3 , Natalie Akagi 3 , Charles Villanueva 4 , Michael Hennesy 5
- 1Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
- 2Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
- 3Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
- 4Azuca, Inc., Denver, Colorado, USA.
- 5Wana Brands, LLC, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
Affiliationer
Abstract
Introduction: Edibles have become the second-most used cannabis product in legal U.S. states, wherein 64% of cannabis consumers reported using edibles within the past year. Among expansions to the legal cannabis industry are the newly marketed “fast-acting” edible compounds, which may address many of the issues associated with edible use related to overdose and dose management. The study hypotheses were that fast-acting edibles would reach peak concentration significantly faster than standard edibles and placebo edibles.
Materials and methods: Twenty participants completed three arms within-subjects designed study to test hypotheses. The three arms were ingestion of a (1) fast-acting edible, (2) a standard edible, and (3) a Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) terpene-derived placebo edible that was indistinguishable from the two THC-containing edibles. Blood plasma was analyzed for the presence of THC and THC analytes. The pharmacokinetic parameters tested were time to max concentration (Tmax), maximum concentration (Cmax), terminal half-life (t1/2), and area under the curve (AUC).
Results: Results supported study hypotheses in that Tmax was significantly faster for the fast-acting edible, observed 30 min post-ingestion and, on average, 30 min earlier than the Tmax for the standard edible. There were no significant differences between the fast-acting and standard edibles on Cmax, t1/2, and AUC; however, both the fast-acting and standard edibles were significantly different compared with the placebo across all pharmacokinetic parameters.
Discussion: The results indicate that the microencapsulation technology used to create the fast-acting edible enabled analyte concentrations to peak significantly faster compared to the standard and placebo edibles.
Keywords: blood cannabinoids; microencapsulation; plasma curves.
