Sorting Out the Green: A New Way to Tell Hemp and Marijuana Apart

With the legalization of hemp in the US, scientists are racing to find the best way to tell it apart from marijuana. Traditional methods, like chemical testing, have their limits. For instance, they struggle with tiny samples or old plants. Genetic analysis, however, can tackle these challenges. It's like a detective, looking for clues in the plant's DNA. scientist studied specific genes that control cannabinoid production. These genes, such as THCAS and CBDAS, hold the key to figuring out if a plant is hemp or marijuana. However, this wasn't easy. They faced hurdles like small sample sizes and similar-looking genes. A recent study used modern sequencing to create a new method. It focused on THCAS and a related gene called a pseudogene. To make this practical for crime labs, the team developed two quick tests. One is called SNaPshot™, which can sift through various types of hemp and marijuana, although it sometimes struggles with samples close to the legal limit. The other test, TaqMan™, gives results faster, but it also has trouble with certain samples, especially edible hemp seeds. Plus, it doesn't provide extra info about CBD. The study also found that variations in a specific pseudogene can affect how plants are categorized. This underlines the importance of detailed genetic analysis.