Marijuana Stronger Than Ever!

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Beware: Misinformation alert

Wow, who knew, but the marijuana sold (illegally, of course) in the USA is stronger than ever before, which could explain the increasing number of emergency room visits due to this drug, according to government drug experts. (Image source).

Analysis of seized samples of marijuana and hashish showed that more of the cannabis on the market is of the strongest grade, the White House and National Institute for Drug Abuse said.

They cited data from the University of Mississippi's Marijuana Potency Project showing the average levels of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in the products rose from 7 percent in 2003 to 8.5 percent in 2006.

The level had risen steadily from 3.5 percent in 1988. [story]

The highest amount of THC was found a sample confiscated by the Oregon State police. Hrm, so everyone knows where to go to get the best weed, right?

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yeah, cops have the best dope.
I guess Oregon cops have the best best dope.

I'm skeptical. This story has been repeated, almost word for word, every few years since my college days in the 70s. There's no link or publication citation, just a press release from the government. Are the averages skewed by outliers like the 33% sample? Were they lumping hash with unprocessed weed? Did they examine whether people use less pot if it's stronger? Are teenagers using the premium stuff, or are they buying cheaper, weaker pot? There's no explanation of how many medical emergencies they're talking about, or what the nature of the emergencies is. Do they mean overdoses or auto accidents? Did they account for pot being combined with alcohol or other drugs?

The report said more than 60 percent of teens receiving treatment for drug abuse or dependence report marijuana as their primary drug of abuse.

Hmmmmmm...I wonder why they don't just say that 60% of drug treatments are for marijuana? Probably because these people are being treated for harder drug abuse, and happen to also use cannabis. So their using the old gateway drug argument which is BS because the primary gateway drugs are the ones that are legally available (Nicotine, Alcohol, and Caffeine).

"Although the overall number of young people using marijuana has declined in recent years

Bull! Depending on which research you look at it has either gone up, or only declined by about 1%. Hardly a success, in fact if you wanted teens to stop doing Marijuana all you have to do is legalize it. Because drug dealers don't check id's and it easier to get than cigarettes and alcohol.

Yes, marijuana is currently up 4x stronger than the 1970's. Compare a regular marijuana joint of what potheads refer to as "schwag" and it contains about 4-6% of THC. Now compage this to a higher quality strain such as Purple Haze and it has close to 17-19% THC. This second kind of marijuana is termed "kind bud" and is a premium strain of marijuana grown under close and careful eyes. Much of the time these pot harvesters of today grow in a closet with the grower in charge of all of the variables. Whether it be the PH level of the water needed to produce the best buds, or even such enhanced methods such as C02 air injection, the buds of today are premium high quality strains of potent marijuana.

I have studied the marijuana issue a while back and am aware that it is much more potent and I think they use this information when teaching in the schools. Other than that, the only other thing I know about marijuana is that it really screws with hiking trails in Hawaii.

The internet is more potent than it used to be, and gets more so each year. More people are addicted to the internet, also.

Of course, the personal computer can be a Gateway drug!

Gee, the White House and National Institute for Drug Abuse wouldn't lie about this, would they?

The report said more than 60 percent of teens receiving treatment for drug abuse or dependence report marijuana as their primary drug of abuse.

Hmmmmmm...I wonder why they don't just say that 60% of drug treatments are for marijuana? Probably because these people are being treated for harder drug abuse, and happen to also use cannabis. So their using the old gateway drug argument which is BS because the primary gateway drugs are the ones that are legally available (Nicotine, Alcohol, and Caffeine).

on top of that, most teens in drug treatment programs were forced there by court orders. its not like they were out-of-control and sought help. the court can catch pot smokers with a butterfly net and throw'em in treatment and then 'look at all the addicted pothead teenagers! let's arrest some AIDS and cancer patients or we'll send them the wrong message!'

and as for jebidiah. kind bud existed in the 70s and schwag exists now. compare apples to apples and you won't get no 4X stronger.

really the problem is deciding what amount of increase in potency would mean anything. maybe thc content has increased 2 or 3 percent over a decade. whats that do? certainly won't account for the teens in treatment programs and emergency room visits.

OK, my first reaction was that this had been debunked by Ben Goldacre, but he was mainly looking at British data (still worth reading: Ben is one of my favourite science writers).

I did find this report, which does show an increase in THC over time (figure 1).

Bob

just legalize it. our constitution says "you have the right to injest any chemical in your body that you deem nessacary at any given time". saw that one on the discovery channel. its a plant. nothingmore. amazing what this government will lock someone up for. the government crows to the world "we're the land of the free" but we have more people in our jail and prison system than ANY OTHER NATION IN THE WORLD. people are gonna smoke it..get over it and legalize it. stop filling our jails and prisons up over a plant. its just a plant. cant grow a plant but go right down the street and have an abortion..thats legal. you can over dose on alchol and its legal. cigarettes are legal and they kill.period.guns are legal and they kill.period.but grow a plant and you'll go to jail. pffft. politicians are so stupid. legalize it. its not hurting you and its not your body. mind your own business and quit taking people's freedom's over a dam plant.

As noted previously, this is an old snow job in the "Reefer Madness" tradition.

The whole So-Called War On Drugs is a festering corruption of our government and our society, which has already done more damage to our country than the drugs themselves ever could have. One group standing against it is the Drug Policy Alliance. (Note that their domain is held over from a previous acronym.)

By David Harmon (not verified) on 26 Apr 2007 #permalink

They use it as an opportunity to say that it is more dangerous now that THC levels are supposedly higher, under a false assumption that THC is dangerous in the first place. Also, saying it is now more addictive, is falsly assuming it was in the first place. Rediculous.

This story is obvious misinformation, and should be pulled or mentioned as that.

By John Smith (not verified) on 26 Apr 2007 #permalink

When you get caught fibbing to the people over and over.
How can you trust anything the gov says anymore ?