Detecting and Monitoring Plant THC Content: Innovative and Conventional Methods

There are about 400 chemicals present in hemp, with 60 belonging to the family of cannabinoids. The psychoactive molecules that confer the characteristic of drug to hemp are ll-n o r-A 9-tetrahydrocannabinol and ll-n o r-A 8-tetrahydrocannabinol (Agurel, Dewey, and Willette, 1984); the only difference is a double bond between the carbon in positions 8 and 9 (see Figure 3.1).