Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis of urine specimens for K2 (JWH-018) metabolites.

Marijuana is the most widely used drug of abuse all over the world. The major active constituent of the drug is Δ⁹- tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ⁹-THC). Δ⁹-THC exerts its psychological activities by interacting with the cannabinoid receptors (CB₁ and CB₂) in the brain. JWH-018, HU-210, and CP-47497, with CB₁ agonist activity (similar to Δ⁹-THC), have been used by the drug culture to spike smokable herbal products to attain psychological effects similar to those obtained by smoking marijuana. The products spiked with these CB₁ agonists are commonly referred to as "Spice" or "K2". The most common compound used in these products is JWH-018 and related compounds (JWH-073 and JWH-250). Little work has been done on the detection of these synthetic cannabimimetic compounds in biological specimens. This report investigated the metabolism of JWH-018 by human liver microsomes, identification of the metabolites of JWH-018 in urine specimen of an individual who admitted use of the drug, and reports on the quantitation of three of its urinary metabolites, namely the 6-OH-, the N-alkyl OH (terminal hydroxyl)-, and the N-alkyl terminal carboxy metabolites using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The concentrations of these metabolites are determined in several forensic urine specimens.