HR: 1340h
AN: B13B-1207    [Abstracts]
TI: Stable Isotopic Constraints on the Geographic Sources of Marijuana in Alaska
AU: * Booth, A L
EM: ffalb@uaf.edu
AF: Alaska Stable Isotope Facility, Water and Environmental Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 306 Tanana Dr., Fairbanks, AK 99708, United States
AU: Wooller, M J
EM: ffmjw@uaf.edu
AF: Alaska Stable Isotope Facility, Water and Environmental Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 306 Tanana Dr., Fairbanks, AK 99708, United States
AU: Haubenstock, N A
EM: fnnh@uaf.edu
AF: Alaska Stable Isotope Facility, Water and Environmental Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 306 Tanana Dr., Fairbanks, AK 99708, United States
AU: Howe, T A
EM: fntsh@uaf.edu
AF: Alaska Stable Isotope Facility, Water and Environmental Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 306 Tanana Dr., Fairbanks, AK 99708, United States
AB: Marijuana in Alaska can have numerous sources. Confiscated plants are known to originate either from within the state (e.g., Fairbanks and the Matanuska-Susitna Valley) or from numerous areas outside the state (e.g., Latin America, Canada and the contiguous United States). Latin America reportedly supplies a large percentage of the marijuana currently distributed in the lower 48 states of the U.S.A. However, in more remote areas of the country such as Fairbanks, Alaska, the supply proportions from different geographic areas are not well known. This is due to an insufficient ability to trace source regions from which confiscated marijuana was originally grown. As such, we have analyzed multiple stable isotopes (C, N, O and H) preserved in marijuana samples to identify the likely geographic source from which the marijuana originated (Drug Enforcement Agency license # RW0324551). These samples were confiscated in Fairbanks, Alaska and supplied to us by the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Police Department. Among 36 marijuana plant samples, we found an unexpectedly large range in the stable carbon isotope compositions (‰13C = -62.2‰ to -24.4‰), with twelve of the 36 samples exhibiting exceedingly low δ13C (-36.1‰ to -62.2‰) relative to typical δ13C of other C3 plants. Interior growing conditions (e.g., hydroponics and/or greenhouses) and a variety of CO2 sources (e.g., CO2 from tanks and fermentation CO2 generators) frequently supplied to growing marijuana to improve yields may account for these exceptionally low δ13C values. Stable oxygen and hydrogen isotope compositions (δ18O and δD vs. V-SMOW) of the marijuana samples were found to range from 10.0‰ to 27.6‰ and -197.1‰ to -134.9‰ respectively. The large range of values suggests that the samples originated from multiple sources ranging from low to high latitudes. δ15N of the marijuana samples also exhibited a large range (-7.0‰ to 14.8‰). This project has implications for the improvement of forensic technology in relatively remote areas such as Alaska. Officers for the Alaska Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Enforcement spend a significant amount of time controlling the production and distribution of marijuana, while the resources allocated for law enforcement must be utilized over a wide geographic area.
DE: 0454 Isotopic composition and chemistry (1041, 4870)
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting