Concern about the negative impact of marijuana use on health has been elevated by recent research findings as well as the availability of more potent marijuana, the trend toward use among younger age groups, and the growing numbers of individuals with long-term exposure to marijuana. On the positive side of the health issue, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary active component of marijuana, is under intense investigation as a treatment for the often intolerable side effects of chemotherapy when other antiemetics are ineffective. Potential uses of THC for treatment of the symptoms of glaucoma, spasms related to muscular dystrophy, and certain asthmatic conditions are also under investigation. Research
to assess both the clinical potential of THC and the effects of marijuana on health must rely in part on sensitive chemical analyses.

Differing methodologies for cannabinoid analysis are required to accommodate these various needs. Accordingly, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has supported a variety of efforts to develop sensitive cannabinoid assay methods by techniques of immunoassay, gas chromatography, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, and high-performance liquid chromatography. The development of these methods was the subject of a technical review held
by NIDA in February 1976 and described in NIDA Research Monograph 7. Since that time, research on techniques in the analysis of cannabinoids in biological fluids has been refined and new methods have been developed. Even more important, perhaps, has been the application of many of these methods to a wide variety of research problems.
In January 1980 NIDA held a second technical review to bring together key scientists working on the development of cannabinoid assays and to summarize recent research where cannabinoid analysis is being used. The present monograph presents this information as a compendium of the state of the art in the rapidly developing field of cannabinoid analysis research today.

It is our hope that this volume will be useful to basic researchers in the fields of biomedical and forensic science, where the availability of reliable, accurate, and accessible quantitative assays is critical to a better understanding of issues in marijuana abuse.

Marvin Snyder, Ph.D.
Director
Division of Research
National Institute on Drug Abuse