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Marijuana Identification: A Test for Calcium in Cystolithic Hairs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2018

Baruch Glattstein  and
Azriel Gorski
Baruch Glattstein
Affiliation:
Israel National Police
Azriel Gorski
Affiliation:
Israel National Police

Extract

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The identification of marijuana (Cannabis sativa) is a routine analysis in many forensic laboratories. An important part of this analysis is the identification of trichomes, commonly called cystolithic hairs, on plant particles. These hairs contain calcium carbonate, The very word cystolithic derives from this fact, coming from the Greek kustis and lithos meaning, “bag of stones”.

Trichomes are not unique to marijuana but are common on many species of plants. Thus, the mere presence of trichomes on a leaf surface is not sufficient. A required step in the identification of marijuana is the microscopical characterization of the cystoiithic hairs present on the leaf fragments.

Type
Research Article
Information
Microscopy Today , Volume 9 , Issue 4 , May 2001 , pp. 16
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2001

References

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2. Thornton, J.I, and Nakamura, G.R. The Identification of Marijuana, The Journal of the Forensic Science Society, 1972, 12, 461–519.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

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4. Feigl, F., Anger, V. and Oesper, R.E. Spot Tests in Inorganic Analysis; Elsevier Publishing Co.: London, 1972.Google Scholar