Forensic Aspects of Cystolith Hairs of Cannabis and Other Plants

Cystolith hairs, important criteria for the identification of marihuana leaf fragments, occur among several dicotyledonous families, notably the Moraceae, Boraginaceae, Loasaceae, Ulmaceae, and Caimabinaceae. Since cystoliths also develop in many forms, most species can be differentiated from Cannabis only by a very close morphological examination. The Duquenois-Levine test was found useful in confirmation, since none of 82 species, many of which had hairs similar to those found on Cannabis, yielded a positive test.