Hashish e principio attivo: considerazioni medico legali su una casistica

The pharmacological properties of cannabis sativa are due to its main ingredient, delta9tetrahydrocannabiol (THC) which affects dopaminergic neurons thus causing psychoactive effects. Hashish is derived from the resin extracted from the leaves of the plant and contains THC in a percentage from 6 to 15%. The drug samples analyzed at the Laboratorio della Agenzia Regionale Protezione Ambiente Lazio (ARPALazio) in a three year time 2007-2009 were hashish for 54,10% out of the whole analyze drug sampling. The amount of the main active ingredient is between 6 and 8% for the three year time analysis 2007-2009. The cases exceeding the threshold amount of 500 mg as established by the Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica of 9th October 1990 n.309 relating to the unpunishable possession for private personal use were 5,81%. This percentage does not confirm the existence of big international drug trafficking but of “small drug dealers and/or consumers”. This can be explained by considering that if the amount of THC is always low, also the cases exceeding the allowed threshold quantity will be few. Furthermore, if the amount of THC in the sample is between 6-8%, the rest of the substance is made up of other elements such as contaminants, cutting agents and adulterants which alter the laboratory test drug results by hiding the THC contents that will be traced only through more sophisticated techniques.