Science & Justice
Volume 50, Issue 2 , Pages 86-93 , June 2010

Stable isotope models to predict geographic origin and cultivation conditions of marijuana

  • Janet M. Hurley

      Affiliations

    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Current address: Sports Medicine Testing Laboratory, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, United States. Tel.: +1 801 581 7623; fax: +1 801 581 4665.
    • ,
  • Jason B. West

      Affiliations

    • Current address: Texas AgriLife Research , Texas A&M University, Uvalde, TX 78801, United States.
    • ,
  • James R. Ehleringer

Received 14 May 2009 ,Revised 12 November 2009 ,Accepted 15 November 2009.

References 

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  2. Di Forti M, Morrison PD, Butt A, Murray RM. Cannabis use and psychiatric and cognitive disorders: the chicken or the egg?. Current Opinion in Psychiatry. 2007;20:228–234
  3. Gonzalez R. Acute and non-acute effects of cannabis on brain functioning and neuropsychological performance. Neuropsychology Review. 2007;17:347–361
  4. Library of Congress, Marijuana availability in the United States and its associated territories. A report prepared by the Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, under an Interagency Agreement with the National Guard Bureau Counterdrug Office (NGB-CD), Library of Congress, Washington, DC, 2003.
  5. West JB, Bowen GJ, Cerling TE, Ehleringer JR. Stable isotopes as one of nature's ecological recorders. Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 2006;21:408–414
  6. Liu JH, Lin WF, Fitzgerald MP, Saxena SC, Shieh YN. Possible characterization of samples of Cannabis sativa L. by their carbon isotopic distributions. Journal of Forensic Science. 1979;24:814–816
  7. Denton TM, Schmidt S, Critchley C, Stewart GR. Natural abundance of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in Cannabis sativa reflects growth conditions. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology. 2001;28:1005–1012
  8. Galimov EM, Sevastyanov VS, Kulbachevskaya EV, Golyavin AA. Isotope ratio mass spectrometry: δ13C and δ15N analysis for tracing the origin of illicit drugs. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry. 2005;19:1213–1216
  9. Shibuya EK, Sarkis JES, Negrini-Neto O, Martinelli LA. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes as indicative of geographical origin of marijuana samples seized in the city of Sao Paulo Brazil. Forensic Science International. 2007;167:8–15
  10. Shibuya EK, Sarkis JES, Negrini-Neto O, Moreira MZ, Victoria RL. Sourcing Brazilian marijuana by applying IRMS analysis to seized sample. Forensic Science International. 2006;160:35–43
  11. Shibuya EK, Sarkis JES, Negrini-Neto O, Ometto JPHB. Multivariate classification based on chemical and stable isotopic profiles in sourcing the origin of marijuana samples seized in Brazil. Journal of Brazilian Chemical Society. 2007;18:205–214
  12. Ehleringer JR, West JB, Hurley JM. A marijuana signature program: final report on using stable isotopes in marijuana to predict geographic origin. Executive Office of the President, Office of National Drug Control Policy, Washington, DC. 2007;
  13. Ehleringer JR, West JB, Hurley JM. A marijuana signature program phase II: a focus on border-seizure specimens, model evaluation using “blind-eradication” specimens, and model application to USA “Retail-seizure” specimens. Executive Office of the President, Office of National Drug Control Policy, Washington, DC. 2008;
  14. West JB, Hurley JM, Ehleringer JR. The stable isotope ratios of marijuana. I. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes describe the growth conditions. Journal of Forensic Sciences. 2009;54:84–89
  15. West JB, Hurley JM, Dudas FÖ, Ehleringer JR. The stable isotope ratios of marijuana. II. Strontium isotopes relate to geographic origin. Journal of Forensic Sciences. 2009;54:1261–1269
  16. Hurley JM, West JB, Ehleringer JR. Tracing retail marijuana in the United States: geographic origin and cultivation patterns. International Journal of Drug Policy. 2010;21:222–228
  17. Bowen GJ, Revenaugh J. Interpolating the isotopic composition of modern meteoric precipitation. Water Resources Research. 2003;39:1299;10.129/2003WR002086
  18. Bowen GJ, Ehleringer JR, Chesson LA, Stange E, Cerling TE. Stable isotope ratios of tap water in the coterminous USA. Water Resources Research. 2007;43:W03419
  19. Pataki DE, Bowling DR, Ehleringer JR, Zobitz JM. High resolution atmospheric monitoring of urban carbon dioxide sources. Geophysical Research Letters. 2006;33:L03813
  20. Roden JS, Lin GG, Ehleringer JR. A mechanistic model for interpretation of hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios in tree-ring cellulose. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 2000;64:21–35
  21. Drug Enforcement Administration, Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics Online. Table 4.38.2005, US Department of Justice (2005) http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/pdf/t4382005.pdf.
  22. Bowen GJ, Chesson L, Nielson K, Cerling TE, Ehleringer JR. Treatment methods for the determination of δ2H and δ18O of hair keratin by continuous-flow isotope-ratio mass spectrometry. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry. 2005;19:2371–2378
  23. National Drug Intelligence Center. National Drug Threat Assessment 2008 (Product No. 2007-Q0317-003). Washington, DC: US Department of Justice; 2007;
  24. Ehleringer JR, Field CB, Lin ZF, Kuo CY. Leaf carbon isotope and mineral composition in subtropical plants along an irradiance cline. Oecologia. 1986;70:520–526

PII: S1355-0306(09)00175-0

doi: 10.1016/j.scijus.2009.11.003

Science & Justice
Volume 50, Issue 2 , Pages 86-93 , June 2010

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