Identification and quantification of synthetic cannabinoids in 'spice-like' herbal mixtures: Update of the German situation in summer 2018

In June 2018, 15 'Spice-like' herbal products from German language internet shops were analyzed. In total, three different synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Two of the active ingredients were identified as the recently described 5F-ADB and Cumyl-PeGaClone. The third compound was identified as the so far unknown SC 5F-Cumyl-PeGaClone. 5F-Cumyl-PeGaClone was subject to an in-depth characterization by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), electron ionization mass spectrometry (EI-MS), electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS), infrared and uItraviolet-visible spectroscopy (IR and UV/Vis). In addition, all SCs in all products were quantified by a GC-MS method using JWH-018 as internal standard and corresponding response factors. While Cumyl-PeGaClone and 5F-ADB were detected in one, respectively two products, the newly identified 5F-Cumyl-PeGaClone was detected as the only active ingredient in the remaining twelve products. The SC content ranged from 14.7 to 76.2 mg/g (average: 32.1 mg/g).