8β,11-diOH-THC.8β,11-dihydroxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol

8β,11-diOH-THC is a phase I metabolite of Δ9-THC, hydroxylated on the methyl carried by carbon 9 (carbon C11) and on carbon 8, in the 8β configuration. Its formation combines the major C11 hydroxylation route, attributed to CYP2C9 and CYP2C19, and a minor C8 route attributed to CYP3A4 (Gasse et al. 2020). Its presence in vivo, long debated, was demonstrated by Gasse et al. (2018): in 70 plasma samples from cannabis users, it was detected in 37, 35 of them at quantifiable concentrations (limit of quantification 0.4 ng/mL), whereas 8β-OH-THC appeared in only 3 samples, below the limit of quantification. Its shorter detectability than 11-OH-THC makes it a candidate marker of recent use. No receptor affinity or activity measurement was found, and no administration of the isolated compound is published.

Source

No occurrence in the plant is documented. 8β,11-diOH-THC is a phase I metabolite of Δ9-THC formed in the body: Gasse et al. (2018) found it in 37 of the 70 plasma samples from cannabis users they analysed. Outside the body, it exists only as a reference standard for analytical toxicology.

No plant pathway: the molecule results from two hydroxylations of Δ9-THC in the body, at C11 and at C8. The major C11 hydroxylation is attributed to CYP2C9 and CYP2C19, and the minor route leading to 8β-OH-THC to CYP3A4 (Gasse et al. 2020). The order of the steps and the exact enzymes forming the dihydroxylated derivative have not been described in detail.

European Union

No European Union measure and no schedule of the United Nations conventions names 8β,11-diOH-THC: the 1971 Convention lists Δ9-THC and six positional isomers of tetrahydrocannabinol, but not its hydroxylated metabolites. Its status therefore falls to the national law of each Member State. No report of the molecule on the new psychoactive substances market was found.

France

8β,11-diOH-THC is not named on any French list. Its status depends on the interpretation of two generic entries of the narcotics list (decree of 22 February 1990). The entry "Tetrahydrocannabinols, their esters, ethers, salts as well as the salts of the aforementioned derivatives", moved to annex III by the ANSM decision of 6 February 2026, covers tetrahydrocannabinols without mentioning their hydroxylated derivatives. The generic "benzo[c]chromene" clause of annex IV (decisions of 22 May and 3 June 2024) lists the substitutions allowed at positions 1, 2 or 4, 3, 6 and 9, but not at position 8, which this metabolite carries. No published decision or case law settles its case; in practice, the molecule is not sold and is met only in biological samples and reference-standard catalogues.

Sources: EUR-Lex, UNODC, CND, ANSM, IUPHAR/BPS, ChEBI, EUDA. Our method.

Family

Metabolite

Chemistry

C5 side chain · neutral form

Parent molecule

Δ9-THC

Verification

Every fact on this entry was checked against its primary sources on 20 October 2026.

Wikipedia (English)

8,11-Dihydroxytetrahydrocannabinol (new tab)

Article paired by the molecule's structure (InChIKey), revision read on 19 October 2026. Read as a second opinion, never cited as a source.

1. 1Gasse A, Pfeiffer H, Köhler H, Schürenkamp J. 8β-OH-THC and 8β,11-diOH-THC, minor metabolites with major informative value? Int J Legal Med 2018;132:157-164 (new tab)PMID 28983686
2. 2Gasse A, Vennemann M, Köhler H, Schürenkamp J. Toxicogenetic analysis of Δ9-THC-metabolizing enzymes. Int J Legal Med 2020;134:2095-2103 (new tab)PMID 32712703
3. 3ANSM, decision of 6 February 2026 amending the list of substances classified as narcotics and the list of psychotropic substances (new tab)
4. 4ANSM, consolidated list of substances classified as narcotics, updated 16 February 2026 (annex III, « Tetrahydrocannabinols… »; annex IV, « benzo[c]chromene » clause) (new tab)
5. 5PubChem, 8beta,11-Dihydroxy-delta(9)-THC, CID 148024 (new tab)

SMILES

CCCCCC1=CC(=C2[C@@H]3C=C([C@H](C[C@H]3C(OC2=C1)(C)C)O)CO)O

Machine-readable entry (JSON)

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