The physical and chemical features of Cannabis plants

grown in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and

Northern Ireland from seeds of known origin
P. B. BAKER
T. A. GOUGH
B. J. TAYLOR
Laboratory of the Government Chemist, Cornwall House, London, United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland

ABSTRACT
Cannabis plants have been grown in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland from seeds taken from seizures of cannabis of known geographical origin and
chemistry. The gross physical appearance and cannabinoid patterns of many of the cannabis
samples produced in the United Kingdom were closely related to those of the parents.
However, some notable exceptions were recorded. There were wide variations in actual
tetrahydrocannabinol content between plants grown from different seedstock and rather
smaller variations within the groups grown from the same seedstock. Cannabis produced in
the United Kingdom had higher tetra-hydrocannabinolic acid/tetrahyrocannabinol ratios than
imported material.

Introduction
In a study of the physical and chemical features of imported Cannabis products, Baker and
others found that the gross physical appearance and the cannabinoid pattern as revealed by
thin-layer chromatography (TLC) correlated with the geographical origin for most of the
samples examined. Consequently, if these features of a sample of unknown origin were
compared with those of samples of known origin, an opinion as to the geographical origin of
the unknown sample could be formed. Such information may be useful in criminal
investigations relating to illicit Cannabisproduct importations and may aid the international
control of the substance. It may also be of considerable importance to know whether a seizure
made within the United Kingdom was of foreign origin or whether the material was grown
within the United Kingdom. It is thus necessary to study the physical and chemical features
of Cannabis grown in the United Kingdom and in particular, to examine the cannabinoid
patterns of Cannabis plants grown in the United Kingdom from seeds which are not only of
known geographical origin but which are also derived from imported cannabis samples of
known cannabinoid pattern and content.

Seeds from which Cannabis can be grown in the United Kingdom may be derived from three
principal sources: ( a) from seed sold within the United Kingdom for fish bait or bird seed; (
b) from imported cannabis samples; and ( c) from fertile seeds produced from plants
cultivated in the United Kingdom. Seeds sold legally within the United Kingdom have been
shown to have poor germination rates and are therefore unlikely to be used widely by those
engaged in illicit Cannabis cultivation. The majority of seizures of cannabis examined at the
Laboratory of the Government Chemist, London, contained fertile seeds. These were,
however, unlikely to have been incorporated into cigarettes as they had negligible or zero
cannabinoid content and they thus provided a ready source of fertile seeds for cultivation. It
was also necessary to study the physical and chemical features of plants grown from fertile
seeds which themselves were produced in the United Kingdom.
The term Cannabis in this paper refers to Cannabis sativaL.; cannabis to
marijuana; and cannabis resin to hashish.

A limited number of studies of Cannabis plants grown in the United Kingdom from seeds of
known origin have been made. De Faubert Maunder made a comparative study, using TLC,
of the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content of an imported Nigerian cannabis seizure with
plants grown in the United Kingdom from seeds contained therein. The original seizure and
the siblings all showed the same basic cannabinoid pattern, namely absence of cannabidiol
(CBD) and the presence of THC. Although TLC is essentially non-quantitative, de Faubert
Maunder estimated that the siblings all contained less THC than the parent. A second study of
plants grown from seeds derived from a seizure of South African cannabis gave similar
results. Fairbairm and others grew plants from seeds of known origin (although the
cannabinoid pattern was not published) and examined the cannabinoid contents of the
resulting plants. A Nepalese strain grown in different years showed different CBD and THC
contents, but very similar CBD/THC ratios. A Turkish strain contained principally CBD with
no THC content reported, and a Thai strain contained principally THC with a small amount
of CBD. The authors recorded that the cannabinoids occurred in the plants principally as their
acids. These same authors also observed that conditions of growth affected the cannabinoid
content by showing that plants grown in greenhouses had different THC content from plants
grown from the same seed in the open. Care was taken in sampling as previous work had
shown that different parts of the same plant had differing canna-binoid contents.

Fairbairn and Liebmann grew 12 strains of Cannabis in the open in southern England and
found considerable variations between plants of the same strain grown together and harvested
at the same time. Considerable variations within plants were once again noted. However, the
basic cannabinoid ratios remained the same in plants of the same strain despite these
quantitative variations. Results from other groups of workers who had grown plants from the
same batch of seeds in different parts of the world indicated that the same qualitative picture
of cannabinoid pattern was always exhibited. On the basis of these observations, Fairbairn
and Liebmann suggested that there may be two chemical races of Cannabis plants, one being
THC-rich and the other CBD-rich. They considered that this ratio was independent of
environmental conditions, but qualified their opinion by suggesting that several generations
of plants should be grown to confirm this.

Rowan and Fairbairn presented further evidence for the existence of two chemical races of
Cannabis in a study of the cannabinoid patterns of Cannabis seedlings. THC-rich and
CBDrich patterns were shown to be established when plants were small. In the THC-rich
strain, cannabichromene (CBC) was present, whereas in the CBD-rich strain, CBC was
absent.

There have been a number of studies of Cannabis plants grown from seeds of known origin in
other parts of the world. Fetterman and others in a study of Mexican and Turkish seeds grown
in Mississippi, United States of America, proposed that Cannabisplants fell into two groups
which were termed phenotypes, corresponding to fibre-producing and to drugproducing
plants. These authors suggested that the phenotypes should be classified as phenotype I
(drug-type) if the ratio (% THC + % CBN)/(% CBD) was greater than 1.0 and phenotype II
(fibre-type) if this ratio was less than 1.0. All plants of known origin and history could be
classified using this system; only plants of unknown history could not be so classified and the
authors suggested that these samples could have contained mixtures of different types of
cannabis. From their data, the authors concluded, the phenotype of one variety of cannabis
remained the same regardless of the year of planting or place of growth of the sample
analysed. In a related study, Doorenbos and others found most samples to have a phenotype
ratio greater than 5 or less than 0.2. They concluded, as a result of their studies of
cannabinoid content of plants of the same variant grown in different countries and plants
grown through three generations, that environmental factors were not as important as heredity
in determining cannabinoid patterns of Cannabis. The authors noted the different cannabinoid
contents in plants of the same variant grown under different conditions and that most of the
cannabinoids were present as their acids. Ohlsson and others, in a study of Cannabis plants
grown in Sweden, concluded that the type of cannabinoid produced by the plant depended on
the seed and that the influence of climate was limited. Turner and Hadley grew three
generations of plants from seeds originating in South Africa and noted some fluctuation in
cannabinoid content, particularly an increase in cannabigerol monomethyl ether (CBGM)
percentages. The authors point out that no major attempt was made to avoid cross-pollination
and so the significance of the increase in CBGM content (a cannabinoid in plants from
northeast Asia ) cannot be properly assessed. Small and Beckstead grew plants from 350
different seeds at Ottawa, Canada, and increased the number of phenotypes by the addition of
a third group where CBD/THC = 1.0 and a fourth group from north-east Asia containing
CBGM. These authors correlated phenotype with the latitude of the seed source as follows:
phenotype I from south of 30°N had THC > 0.3% and CBD < 0.5% and female plants similar
in cannabinoid content to male plants; phenotype II had THC > 0.3% (in female plants) and
CBD > 0.5% and originated from north of 30°N with female plants of much higher
cannabinoid content than males; phenotype III had THC < 0.3% and CBD > 0.5%, but was
otherwise similar to phenotype II, and phenotype IV contained CBGM. The authors
considered that climate might affect the actual amount of THC in a plant, with a more
southerly location meaning a longer growing season resulting in most high-THC (drug-type)
plants being produced from seeds originating from south of 30°N. Krejci and others
demonstrated that seeds from Turkish fibre-producing plants, even when grown under
favourable conditions did not produce appreciable amounts of THC and that seeds derived
from South Africa and Thailand (drug-type), even when grown under unfavourable
conditions, still produced relatively large amounts of THC. Boucher and others grew South
African Cannabis in France and observed that there were two types, either
tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA)-rich or tetrahydrocannabinvarinic acid (THVA)-rich, an
observation also recorded by Field and Arndt and Baker and others. After three generations,
however, all the THVA-rich plants had become THCA-rich, indicating that THCA/THVA
ratios might be under environmental control. Both Novotny and others and Turner and others
suggested that minor cannabinoids might be liable to variations when plants were grown in
different environments.
As a result of the studies described above, the majority of workers have concluded that
although actual THC content, and possibly minor cannabinoid content, may be under
environmental control, the ratios of the principal cannabinoids CBD and THC and the
absence of the former in some Cannabissamples were controlled by the genetic material in
the seed. However, there was a need for multigeneration growing trials before this opinion
could be confirmed.

Although the geographical origin of the seeds was known in many of the studies described, in
no case had the parent material (as produced before export) been adequately analysed in order
that changes (if any) produced by growing seeds in a totally alien environment could be
observed. It was therefore considered to be both necessary and useful to grow plants from
seeds whose origin was known and whose parent chemistry could be studied in detail. The
Laboratory of the Government Chemist was fortunate in possessing a large number of
cannabis samples of known origin containing fertile seeds which were used as a basis for a
study of Cannabis grown in the United Kingdom.

Experimental
Seed selection

Seeds were taken from illicitly imported samples of cannabis of known origin. The country of
origin was assigned by taking into account information from the carrier, from Officers of Her
Majesty's Customs and Excise and from the route of importation. The cannabis samples were
chosen for having particularly characteristic cannabinoid patterns or content which might be
easily followed through subsequent generations. Although homogeneity of seeds within a
seizure could not be completely guaranteed, the homogeneity of seizures as regards
cannabinoid pattern made it a reasonable assumption that seeds would also be homogeneous.

Growing conditions

The first generation of United Kingdom grown plants of Indian and Thai origin were
cultivated indoors in a poorly lighted and unheated room in 1979. The second generation of
the above plants, together with the first generation of the others listed in table 1 were grown
in greenhouses in south-east England during 1980. The greenhouses were gently heated
during October and November. As far as possible conditions for growing each plant were
identical as attention had been drawn to such factors as plant pot size, cultivation conditions,
light intensity, plant maturity and other local environmental factors. In as far as it was
possible, all plants in this study were grown under identical conditions in order that any
differences observed between the parent cannabis sample and the sibling plants might be
ascribed to the environmental differences between the United Kingdom and the country of
origin of the seedstock. In this study the term seedstock means the batch of seeds taken from
a particular importation of cannabis.
 Table 1

Country of origin and chemical features of seedstock Cannabis

Country of CBD % THCA THC %
Cannabinoid content THCA/THC
origin w/w % w/w w/w
Morocco CBD, THC and low THV b 0.8 1.14 0.37 3.1
Sri Lanka High CBD, THC and low THV 1.1 0.33 0.74 0.5
Swaziland THC > THV, no CBD ND c 0.84 0.87 1.0
Thailand a THC and THCA the only major ND 0.9 <0.1 >9.0
components in both parent and
first
India a generation plants ND 1.46 <0.1 >15.0
Zambia THV > THC, no CBD ND 1.37 1.1 1.2
Zimbabwe THC = THV, no CBD ND 5.1 0.63 8.1
aSecond generation bTHV =

tetrahydrocannabivarin cND =

not detected.

Seeds were planted at the end of February and the beginning of March in 75 mm pots filled
with compost (Levington's Fisons Limited, Levington, Ipswich, Suffolk, England). Seedlings
were transplanted to 200 mm pots filled with the same compost in early April. From the
beginning of July until harvesting, plants were given a weekly liquid feed (Bio Plant Food,
Pan Britannica Industries Limited, Britannica House, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire,
England). As soon as flowering commenced, plants were separated according to sex and were
carefully pollinated by hand to ensure that both parents of fertile seeds were from the same
original seedstock. Plants were harvested at maturity, the dates are listed in table 2, except for
those which showed signs of early distress. The dates of maturity fell into two groups, July
and August, and November. Plants from Moroccan seed matured much earlier than all others.
There seemed to be little correlation between the longitude of the plant source and the date of
maturity in the United Kingdom. Nordal and Braenden remarked on the variations in the size
and shapes of plants raised from different seeds in Norway. We were also able to note several
consistencies in appearance within each country as well as certain notable differences.
Moroccan plants were, on the whole, shorter and bushier than other plants, their height being
limited by their short growing period before maturity. Thai plants were consistently tallest
while Swazi plants were initially rather slow growing. The central stems of Zambian plants
were very thick and red stems were notable on some Zimbabwean plants. The plants were
harvested and the leaves and flowering parts of the plants were separated from the woody
parts of the plants and air-dried. Any remaining large stalks were removed before weighing
the product from each plant. Female plants, in general, yielded a greater weight of cannabis
within countries, although one Indian male plant which did not mature until November
produced more cannabis than its female and male or female counterparts which matured
much earlier. The yields of cannabis and the sex of the plants reared to maturity are recorded
in table 2.
 Analysis

Samples of both the parent cannabis and that grown from its seedstock in the United
Kingdom were analysed by TLC, gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) and high performance
liquid chromatography (HPLC). Parent cannabis seizures were quantitatively analysed when
fresh, and as received, except that large stems and stalks were removed before the extraction
stage of the analyses. The United Kingdom grown samples were analysed after removal from
the plant as described above. TLC provided a simple and rapid method of assessing the
relative proportions of the principal cannabinoids in each sample. In view of the importance
of cannabinoid pattern (as distinct from actual content) in the assessment of origin,
quantitative data may only confuse the picture. However GLC was used to determine "total"
THC (i.e. the amount of THC together with its acid), and HPLC was used to determine
"actual" THC.

Table 2

Data on Cannabis plants grown in 1980

Weight
CBD THCA THC
Country plant Harvesting of Cannabinoid
Sex cannabis % % % THCA/THC
of origin number date content
(g) w/w w/w w/w

India 1 August Fa 21.1 As parent ND f 5.8 0.03 194

2 November Mb 39.3 As parent ND 4.5 0.08 57
3 August F 19.0 As parent ND 3.3 0.16 21
4 August M/F 16.4 As parent ND 3.9 0.43 9
5 July M/F 17.1 CBD, CBDA 1.58 37 0.7 0.02
d,THC, low
THV
Morocco 1 July F 46.2 THC, THCA ND 2.9 0.52 6
a, low THV,
CBC, no
CBD
2 June M 11.4 As parent 0.47 0.3 0.03 9
3 July 75.0 As Morocco ND 5.1 0.25 21
1
Sri Lanka 1 August F 47.9 As parent 2.76 0.1 0.05 3
2 July M 37.3 THC, THCA, ND 3.0 0.09 33
low THV,
CBC
3 August F 52.0 As parent 1.79 0.1 0.02 7
Swaziland 1 August M 28.4 As parent ND 0.6 0.05 13
 2 July M 27.7 THC, THCA, ND 1.9 0.05 39
orange spot at
THV Rf
3 August M 59.1 As parent ND 1.5 0.05 31
Thailand 1 November F 18.1 As parent ND 7.1 0.06 117
2 November F 32.7 As parent ND 4.3 0.05 85
3 July Imm 23.6 As parent ND 3.5 0.09 39
c
4 November F 24.6 As parent ND 3.2 0.05 63
5 July Imm 14.5 As parent ND 3.5 0.06 58
Zambia 1 November F 27.7 As parent ND 0.6 0.01 60
2 November M 20.1 As parent ND 1.1 0.01 110
3 November F 26.7 As parent ND 0.8 0.01 80
Zimbabwe 1 August Imm 28.9 As parent ND 0.7 0.15 4
2 November F 27.6 As parent ND 1.3 0.13 10
3 November M 10.9 As parent ND 1.1 0.09 13
aF = female plant b M = male plant c

Imm = Immature plant d CBDA =

cannabidiolic acid e THCA =

tetrahydrocannabinolic acid f ND =

not detected.

The amount of THCA was then determined as previously described. All samples were
analysed when fresh (i.e. upon seizure or immediately after harvesting).

Results and discussion

The United Kingdom products after harvesting were in all cases green or yellow-green friable
materials. This was not in some cases dissimilar (and without hindsight not distinguishable)
from the original imported cannabis. However, imported material was generally darker in
colour and the samples from which Indian and Zimbabwean seeds were selected were quite
brown.

Most of the cannabinoids were present as their parent acids. TLC indicated that the majority
of United Kingdom grown samples were, at least in cannabinoid pattern, very similar to the
sample from which their seeds were taken. However, 5 of the 25 harvested plants showed
very different cannabinoid patterns from their parent cannabis samples; results for all the
plants are listed in table 2. All groups produced at least one plant which was similar to the
parent material and all the Indian, Zambian and Zimbabwean plants were similar to their
parents. Although all seeds for a given country came from the same seizure of cannabis, it is
possible that these seizures, however small, were not homogeneous. This might explain the
patterns found in Sri Lanka 2 and Swaziland 2, the pattern of the latter being characteristic of
some samples of South African cannabis. In four of the five plants which were very
dissimilar to their parents, CBD present in the parent did not occur in the sibling plant or vice
versa. In the case of India 5, CBD did not occur in any of the plants grown in 1979 in the
United Kingdom nor in the original imported material.

Quantitative data

In general, and as expected from the TLC data, HPLC patterns were similar for plants from
one source, other than the major exceptions discussed above. Tables 1 and 2 record the
quantitative data for the seedstock cannabis and the United Kingdom grown material
respectively. It is clear from these data that good quality cannabis can be produced in the
United Kingdom, a result in accordance with that of Fairbairn and Liebmann, much of it as
good as fresh imported material. When it is considered that only 15% of all seizures of
Cannabis products examined in this Laboratory are fresh at time of analysis, the quality of
United Kingdom cannabis becomes of much greater significance. Although there is a broad
similarity in the actual amount of THC in plants of the same country, there are quite wide
variations. Those plants (India 5, Morocco 2 and Sri Lanka 1, 3) which contain CBD have
lower amounts of THC than other plants from the same seedstock. It is of interest that both
the Indian and Thai first generation plants had low THC contents (see table 1) whereas the
second generation plants had much higher THC content. It may be that the low content of the
first generation plants is a reflection of the cold and rather dark conditions under which these
first generation plants were grown.

A study of the ratio of THCA/THC in the harvested plants showed that, in general for the
United Kingdom material, this had a much higher value than for imported material. Over all
major supplies of fresh cannabis to the United Kingdom in 1979 (64 examined), the average
THCA/THC ratio was 2.4 (s = 2.2). However, for the 22 samples grown in the United
Kingdom, this ratio averaged 40 (s = 46). Mechoulam noted that Cannabis grown in northern
countries possessed little if any neutral cannabinoids, whereas that grown in tropical or
subtropical countries underwent at least some decarboxylation in the plant. Mechoulam
further considered that the method of illicit preparation caused further decarboxylation.

Conclusions
From these studies, it was clear that cannabis prepared from at least the first generation of
plants grown in the United Kingdom from imported Cannabis seeds could bear a close
physical resemblance to the original material. Further, the cannabinoid patterns of seedstock
plant material and siblings were similar in most cases, although there were some notable
exceptions. The "total" THC content showed no distinct trends, but there was no doubt that it
was possible to produce good quality cannabis in the United Kingdom. The ratio THCA/THC
was significantly higher in the samples of United Kingdom cannabis than in imported
samples: determination of this ratio for samples of unknown provenance might provide the
analyst with an indication as to whether a sample had been imported, although it would be
necessary to study a much greater range of plants before such a generalization could be
substantiated. Further generation studies are being undertaken to monitor any gradual
changes in plant characteristics.