A Compartment Pharmacokinetics Model of THC and Its Metabolites after Smoking

This article presents the application of the compartment model to investigate the pharmacokinetics of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), one of the cannabinoids found in cannabis, after
smoking cannabis. The behavior of THC and its metabolite concentrations in the body following
smoking were investigated, and the result offered a guideline for determining the appropriate duration between each smoking session to prevent intoxication and potential harm to the body. The
compartment model was transformed into ordinary differential equations (ODEs) to describe the
rate of change in the concentration of THC and its metabolites in each compartment, employing the
law of mass action. For simulating the solution curve, the exact solutions of the ODE system and an
actual data sample were processed using Microsoft Excel to obtain the optimal rate constants using
curve fitting and generating a simulated curve that closely matched the actual data. The findings in
this study indicated that the proposed model effectively described the concentration behavior of THC
and its metabolites in plasma and other tissues. Therefore, the model will serve as a valuable tool
for the determination of the appropriate duration between each smoking session to prevent harm to
the body