Date of Submission

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Forensic Science

Department

Criminal Justice

Advisor

Marisia A. Fikiet, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Alyssa L.M. Marsico, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Amanda L.A. Mohr, MSFS, D-ABFT-FT

Keywords

Cannabis, Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), Cannabidiol (CBD), Drug-Drug Interactions, Workplace Drug Tests (WDTs), High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-PDA/QQQ

MeSH

Cannabis, Dronabinol, Cannabidiol, Drug Interactions, Substance Abuse Detection, Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid

LCSH

Cannabis, Tetrahydrocannabinol, Drug Interactions, Drug testing, High performance liquid chromatography

Abstract

As a result of its turbulent history, public perception towards Cannabis has been significantly divided despite its increasing acceptance from both medical and social perspectives. The Farm Bill of 2018 is the first to loosen federal restrictions on the plant and its byproducts by legalizing industrial hemp. Industrial hemp is defined as Cannabis plants that are cultivated to possess 0.3% or less of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on a dry weight basis, with the major cannabinoid present being cannabidiol (CBD). Consequently, hemp is not considered a controlled substance and is not under the same restrictions as marijuana-which is any medication, product, or plant with a THC content higher than 0.3%. Unfortunately, previous focus on complete prohibition has severely limited current understanding of the full breadth of Cannabis “physiological impact and analytical potential. This oversight now competes with the ensuing high demand of Cannabis products, resulting in a lack of quality assurance for commercial methods and the production of items with erroneous CBD and THC amounts. Ramifications for unsuspecting consumers include adverse effects and drug-drug interactions; as well as financial repercussions in failed workplace drug tests (WDTs) despite the claim a consumer product is “THC-free”. The following study aims to quantify the CBD and THC levels of local hemp products and evaluate the validity of their product label. For analysis, two instruments were chosen: the Agilent 1100 HPLC-PDA and the Shimadzu HPLC 8050C QQQ. Three Connecticut sourced CBD oils were used to determine an appropriate method and extraction protocol. Two different extraction protocols were tested for their effectiveness: one developed by a previous thesis at the University of New Haven Environmental Sciences and Engineering (CESE). While the calibration curves did not produce consistent passing values, later curves could have been compromised due to the aging detector lamp on the instrument.

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