Biomarkers of Recent Cannabis Use in Blood, Oral Fluid and Breath

Abstract

Proving driving under the influence of cannabis (DUIC) is difficult. Establishing a biomarker of recent use to supplement behavioral observations may be a useful alternative strategy. We determined whether cannabinoid concentrations in blood, oral fluid (OF) or breath could identify use within the past 3 h-likely the period of the greatest impairment. In a randomized trial, 191 frequent (≥4/week) and occasional (<4/week) cannabis users smoked one cannabis (placebo [0.02%], or 5.9% or 13.4% Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol [THC]) cigarette ad libitum. Blood, OF and breath samples were collected prior to and up to 6 h after smoking. Samples were analyzed for 10 cannabinoids in OF, 8 in blood and THC in breath. Frequent users had more residual THC in blood and were more likely to be categorized as 'recently used' prior to smoking; this did not occur in OF. Per se limits ranging from undetectable to 5 ng/mL THC in blood offered limited usefulness as biomarkers of recent use. Cannabinol (CBN, cutoff = 1 ng/mL) in blood offered 100% specificity but only 31.4% sensitivity, resulting in 100% positive predictive value (PPV) and 94.0% negative predictive value (NPV) at 4.3% prevalence; however, CBN may vary by cannabis chemovar. A 10 ng/mL THC cutoff in OF exhibited the overall highest performance to detect its use within 3 h (99.7% specificity, 82.4% sensitivity, 92.5% PPV and 99.2% NPV) but was still detectable in 23.2% of participants ∼4.4 h post-smoking, limiting specificity at later time points. OF THC may be a helpful indicator of recent cannabis intake, but this does not equate to impairment. Behavioral assessment of impairment is still required to determine DUIC. This study only involved cannabis inhalation, and additional research evaluating alternative routes of ingestion (i.e., oral) is needed.