Marijuana potency increased in 2007, study says

[cenacle]

Marijuana potency increased in 2007, study says
Posted by sgage June 12, 2008 00:01AM

Published June 12, 2008 by OregonLive.com

Marijuana potency increased last year to the highest level in more than 30 years, posing greater health risks to people who may view the drug as harmless, according to a report released Thursday by the White House.

The latest analysis from the University of Mississippi's Potency Monitoring Project tracked the average amount of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, in samples seized by law enforcement agencies from 1975 through 2007. It found that the average amount of THC reached 9.6 percent in 2007, compared with 8.75 percent the previous year.

The 9.6 percent level represents more than a doubling of marijuana potency since 1983, when it averaged just under 4 percent.

"Today's report makes it more important than ever that we get past outdated, anachronistic views of marijuana," said John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. He cited baby boomer parents who might have misguided notions that the drug contains the weaker potency levels of the 1970s.

"Marijuana potency has grown steeply over the past decade, with serious implications in particular for young people," Walters said. He cited the risk of psychological, cognitive and respiratory problems, and the potential for users to become dependent on drugs such as cocaine and heroin.

The White House office attributed the increases in marijuana potency to sophisticated growing techniques that drug traffickers are using at sites in the United States and Canada.

A report from the office last month found that a teenager who has been depressed in the past year was more than twice as likely to have used marijuana than teenagers who have not reported being depressed -- 25 percent compared with 12 percent. The study said marijuana use increased the risk of developing mental disorders by 40 percent.

"The increases in marijuana potency are of concern since they increase the likelihood of acute toxicity, including mental impairment," said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which funded the University of Mississippi study.

"Particularly worrisome is the possibility that the more potent THC might be more effective at triggering the changes in the brain that can lead to addiction," Volkow said.

The project analyzed data on 62,797 cannabis samples, 1,302 hashish samples, and 468 hash oil samples obtained primarily from seizures by law enforcement agencies in 48 states since 1975.

[cenacle]

Better weed, better world...

Weed is love...

 :twisted:

[Syd]

propaganda, I say we Impeach teh entIre government.

[kemp]

Make it legal and the potency will go down for fuck sake... does it only make sense to a few of us?

"Marijuana potency has grown steeply over the past decade, with serious implications in particular for young people," Walters said. He cited the risk of psychological, cognitive and respiratory problems, and the potential for users to become dependent on drugs such as cocaine and heroin.

You said it Syd... propaganda.

[Stonehenge]

I don't believe a word that comes out of the white house. Shrub is a known liar who may yet face impeachment. Why should potency go down? The stronger it is, the less you use so it's more economical. There have been no studies showing greater risks from high potency vs low so that was made up by the chimp. The only real risk is bronchitis from heavy use. And arrest.

They have been making announcements like this every year or two for decades. What about 150 proof liquor vs beer and wine? Lets get some hysteria over that. Lots of people die each year from alcohol poisoning vs 0 for pot.

[laughingwillow]

Well, at least we're wining the war against bad weed.

lw

[jfurry]

well spoken mr willow.