Dronabinol - INN for THC, delta-9-THC, international non-proprietary name, international nonproprietary name, Kenzi Riboulet-Zemouli | Kenzi Riboulet-Zemouli | kenzi.zemou.li | Drug policy reform, ecosystems, environment, sustainability, agriculture, access and benefit-sharing, human rights, international law, cannabis, hashish, haschish, hachich, hachis, hasheesh, marijuana, ganja, gunjah, dagga, kif, bhang, bangui, mbangue, diamba, mariamba, mariguana, marihuana, marijuana, ntsangu, sedenegi, cáñamo, chanvre, hanf, konopi, hemp, funghi, fungi, psilocybe, mushrooms, psychedelics, poppy, coca, coca leaf, Erythroxylum, Erythroxylon, drugs, drogas, drogues, drug control, fiscalización, contrôle des drogues, narcotic, psychotropic, stupéfiant, estupefaciente, estupefaent, dret internacional, derecho internacional, droit international, Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge, Biopiracy, Recursos genéticos, Conocimientos tradicionales, biopiratería, ressources génétiques, connaissances traditionnelles, biopiraterie, europe, afrique, europa, africa, mediterráneo, méditerranée, mediterranean. WHO OMS WIPO OMPI, Nations Unies Naciones Unidas United Nations, INCB UNODC CND UN ONU ONUDD ONUDC JIFE OICS, Convention unique sur les stupéfiants de 1961 Single Convention on narcotic drugs, Convención Única sobre estupefacientes. Medical cannabis, Cannabis medicinal, Adult use, Usage adulte, Uso adulto, Usos adultos, Traditional use, Traditional medicine, T&CM, wellness, hemp, food, fibre, fiber, stem.

There is Dronabinol in your Cannabis: resources on the international nonproprietary names (INNs) of THC (dronabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol)

(posted originally on linkedin [account now deleted] on 13 Oct. 2021)

 

The correct name of delta-9-THC [in medicine and pharmacy]: dronabinol.

Generic names, or International Nonproprietary Names (INN) are “intended for use in pharmacopoeias, labelling, product information, advertising and other promotional material, drug regulation and scientific literature, and as a basis for product names, e.g. for generics.” (WHO, 2022).

There is an INN for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol: “dronabinol” (WHO, 1984a, p. 6; 1984b, p. 4). It was attributed in 1984. In 2017, the INN “cannabidiol” was attributed to (–)-cannabidiol (WHO, 2017, pp. 257-8; WHO, 2017, p. 75). 

While nobody ever refers to “cannabidiol” as if it was only designating a molecules obtained by chemical synthesis, excluding those obtained from botanical parts of a plant, the INN “dronabinol” is almost systematically associated solely with the “synthetic” delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol

 

Is dronabinol only referencing “synthetic THC”?

 

The INN dronabinol is providing three references to locate the compound named:

  • 1. (6aR, 10aR)-6a,7,8,10a-tetrahydro-6,6,9-trimethyl-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo[b,d]pyran-1-ol 

In WHO ECDD review documentation on THC it refers to all stereoisomers

In WHO ECDD review documentation on isomers, it refers to all isomers

According to ChemIDplus, CAS registry number 1972-08-3 refers to: “A psychoactive compound extracted from the resin of Cannabis sativa (marihuana, hashish). The isomer delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is considered the most active form, producing characteristic mood and perceptual changes associated with this compound.”

  • 3. The following image:

Nothing seems to indicate that the INN is restricted to a specific enantiomer or limited to a specific method of obtention. Indeed, there is no reason to believe –as many do– that dronabinol refers only to the “synthetic version” of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. This popular belief might be related to the fact that the first delta-9-THC/dronabinol medicines to be comercialized were indeed not plant-derived.

But the truth is: there is dronabinol in the decarboxylated buds of Cannabis sativa and, persons seeking to normalize cannabis in medicine generally should consider refering to the more simple, internationally-agreed INN “dronabinol” rather than on the complex chemical formula “delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol”

After all, isn’t it more normal to refer to the INN “baclofen” than to “β-(p-chlorophenyl)-γ-aminobutyric acid“, to “cocaine” instead of “benzoylmethylecgonine“, or to “paracetamol” instead of “N-(4-Hydroxyphenyl)acetamide“.

Why would Cannabis-derived active compounds be different?

 

References