What Australian police seizures reveal about cannabis potency and CBD levels
Cannabis seized from Australian street-level users averaged nearly 15% THC with almost no CBD, mirroring high-potency trends seen in other countries.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Researchers analyzed 206 cannabis samples confiscated from recreational users under the New South Wales Cannabis Cautioning scheme, along with 26 samples from known indoor or outdoor cultivation sites. The street-level samples averaged 14.88% THC content but only 0.14% CBD.
The near-absence of CBD is notable because CBD is thought to moderate some of the adverse psychological effects of THC. Very low levels of other cannabinoids were also detected, including minimal cannabichromene, cannabinol, and tetrahydrocannabivarin (all below 0.1%).
Samples from known indoor and outdoor cultivation sites showed no significant differences in THC content from each other.
Key Numbers
Mean THC content was 14.88%. Mean CBD content was 0.14%. Cannabigerol averaged 1.18%. Other cannabinoids (CBC, CBN, THC-V) were all below 0.1%. A total of 232 samples were analyzed (206 street-level, 26 from cultivation sites).
How They Did This
Researchers used high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to measure nine cannabinoids in 232 cannabis samples seized by New South Wales police. Street-level samples came from users holding 15 grams or less. Known provenance samples came from larger cultivation operations.
Why This Research Matters
Australia has one of the highest per capita rates of cannabis use globally, yet this was the first systematic analysis of the cannabinoid profile of cannabis available to Australian users. The findings confirmed that the high-THC, low-CBD trend seen in North American and European markets extends to Australia.
The Bigger Picture
The disappearance of CBD from the cannabis supply has public health implications. Research has suggested that CBD may buffer some of the anxiety and psychosis risk associated with THC. A cannabis market dominated by high-THC, near-zero-CBD products may carry different risk profiles than the more chemically diverse cannabis of previous decades.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Samples were limited to New South Wales and may not represent cannabis across all of Australia. Only samples confiscated by police were included, which may not reflect the full range of products available. The study measured cannabinoid content but did not assess health outcomes.
Questions This Raises
- ?Are users aware of the very low CBD content in available cannabis?
- ?Would access to cannabis with balanced THC-to-CBD ratios lead to different health outcomes?
- ?Has the cannabinoid profile of Australian cannabis changed further since 2013?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- 14.88% average THC with only 0.14% CBD in seized Australian cannabis
- Evidence Grade:
- Systematic analytical chemistry study of a large sample set, though limited to one Australian state.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2013. Cannabis potency trends have continued to shift in many markets since this analysis.
- Original Title:
- Analysis of cannabis seizures in NSW, Australia: cannabis potency and cannabinoid profile.
- Published In:
- PloS one, 8(7), e70052 (2013)
- Authors:
- Swift, Wendy(2), Wong, Alex, Li, Kong M, Arnold, Jonathon C, McGregor, Iain S
- Database ID:
- RTHC-00741
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
How strong is cannabis in Australia?
This 2013 analysis of seized samples found average THC content of about 15%, comparable to trends in North America and Europe at the time.
Why does the lack of CBD in cannabis matter?
CBD is thought to moderate some adverse psychological effects of THC. When cannabis contains almost no CBD (0.14% average in this study), users get high THC exposure without that potential buffering effect.
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Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-00741APA
Swift, Wendy; Wong, Alex; Li, Kong M; Arnold, Jonathon C; McGregor, Iain S. (2013). Analysis of cannabis seizures in NSW, Australia: cannabis potency and cannabinoid profile.. PloS one, 8(7), e70052. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0070052
MLA
Swift, Wendy, et al. "Analysis of cannabis seizures in NSW, Australia: cannabis potency and cannabinoid profile.." PloS one, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0070052
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Analysis of cannabis seizures in NSW, Australia: cannabis po..." RTHC-00741. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/swift-2013-analysis-of-cannabis-seizures
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.