Pesticide residues in medicinal cannabis

Apr 2020. Medicinal cannabis is available on prescription in Germany since March 2017, but is subject to the strict regulations of the German Narcotic Drugs Act ("Betäubungsmittelgesetz", BtMG). As a medicinal plant, cannabis has to meet special purity requirements, including those regarding pesticide residues. Eurofins Dr. Specht International GmbH has validated two new test ranges and thus offers you the complete catalogue of requirements of the European Pharmacopoeia EP 2.8.13.

Strict regulations for cannabis as medicinal plant

According to the Single Convention of 1961, the Federal Opium Agency in Germany controls and manages the cultivation of medicinal cannabis. Cannabis available in Germany is therefore considered a medicinal product. Only cannabis that has been grown in accordance with Good Agricultural and Collection Practice, GACP is used and complies with the relevant guidelines and monographs, such as the specifications of the monograph "Cannabis flowers" of the German Pharmacopoeia (“Deutsches Arzneibuch”, DAB). Accordingly, for quality control purposes, an analysis of the cannabis products under GMP is necessary.

Within the European Union the rules for cultivation and use are defined differently and a legal classification is therefore difficult.

General use of cannabis

Even apart from its use as a medicinal plant, cannabis has a historical significance. Hemp, free from THC, the psychoactive agent, has been used since quite a while. This includes hemp oils, hemp seeds or hemp leaves, for example used in tea. Recently, CBD-enriched products such as CBD (hemp) oil are flooding the market. CBD is the short form of cannabidiol, a sister substance of THC, which is also derived from cannabis but has no or only extremely weak psychoactive properties.

Medicinal test ranges for cannabis

Regardless of whether THC-free or THC-containing, all types of cannabis must meet the requirements for pesticide residues. Due to a high content of resins in cannabis containing THC, the analysis requires a higher effort for processing and purification. In order to meet all pesticide residue requirements according to EP 2.8.13, we offer two new test ranges for the analysis of cannabis: each with and without dithiocarbamates.

Do you have any questions regarding our analysis services?

Our narcotics approval according to § 3 Narcotics Law (BtMG-Zulassung) enables us to receive, analyse and store medicinal cannabis for a certain time frame. If you have any question regarding our pesticide analysis for cannabis, please contact our expert for pesticides residue analysis, Dr Rainer Rickert in advance to clarify open questions, especially for administrative reasons. 

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