Feds Say Marijuana Potency Peaks

Feds Say Marijuana Potency Peaks
June 13, 2008

News Summary

A report released by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) says that marijuana samples gathered last year averaged 9.6 percent in THC level, the highest in 30 years, the Associated Press reported June 12.

In 1983, the average level of THC -- the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana -- was 4 percent; it was 8.75 percent in 2006.

Drug czar John Walters said that the higher potency of marijuana posed a variety of health risks for users. "Today's report makes it more important than ever that we get past outdated, anachronistic views of marijuana," he said.

"The increases in marijuana potency are of concern since they increase the likelihood of acute toxicity, including mental impairment," added 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."

However, researcher Mitch Earleywine of the State University of New York said that stronger marijuana doesn't necessarily increase health risks and that there is no evidence to suggest that it leads to more addiction. Earleywine said that users can adjust their consumption according to how strong the drug is and that "stronger cannabis leads to less inhaled smoke."

COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:

Posted by Circle Tree Ranch on 16 Jun 08 04:26 PM EDT

"stronger cannabis leads to less inhaled smoke."-- Oh, well in that case, why don't we add it to the "health food list"?-- Or we can give it its own level on the food pyramid-- right up there with the health benefits of red wine.-- On a less cynical note, how do 'new users' or 'experimenters' gauge a 'safe level' of use?

Posted by Sensible Citizen on 16 Jun 08 04:48 PM EDT

Marijuana is a safe medicine it has never killed anyone and you can't overdose. Marijuana should be medicinal with very minimal penalties for recreational use. It should be taxed and regulated and you use some of the money to advertise against smoking of any kind. Vaporization of marijuana takes the snoke out of it, since the effect is immmediate, patients are able titrate their dose. The drug war does more harm than good. We are raising a nation of felons while permitting a loss of civil rights and a huge tax burden.

Posted by gro4me on 17 Jun 08 12:05 PM EDT

In Amsterdam, where nationally medical marijuana is legal, the LOWEST legal limit for THC content is 12%. This is because higher THC levels means the patient uses less. Clearly American samples are not reaching those standards.

Posted by E.J. on 17 Jun 08 02:53 PM EDT

The arguments that Marijuana has not killed anyone or that there is a medical use for it is the spouting of the ignorant. Research, not archaic 1960’s musings has determined that not only does marijuana cause all the same cancers as smoking cigarettes (another drug laced product no one has over dosed from) but has been connected to head and neck cancer that is most often diagnosed in people in their late teens/early twenties. The benefits claimed by those using marijuana for medical purposes can be addresses by other less harmful means such as less risky Rx drugs, and holistic means. I have not seen research on the demographics of marijuana users claiming their use is for medical purpose, but I would like to know how many of them used prior to there contracting their disease.

Posted by don smyth on 17 Jun 08 08:01 PM EDT

Time to end the mantra that marijuana has never killed anyone. Start with stroke deaths (e.g. Pediatrics, 2004, Stroke. 1991 and two UK inquests). This claim of course is no longer heard down under where the awareness of Aboriginal suicides is high and ongoing (Depletion of serotonin by high-dosing -- eg.McGill. 2007 -- is the primary, but not only factor). My efforts to see the truth told on this side of the Atlantic stem from a promise made in 2001 to two older adolescents -- and two of their parents -- haunted by undeserved guilt around the asthma death of a young adult friend while they were doing bong hits. What is particularly sad about a UK asthma death is that the victim was trying to cut back in the days before his death, after his marijuana use had worsened his asthma -- something not easy to do in the days of the good stuff. How many North Americans have been able to read about the evidence out of Harvard (Can Res. Aug 2007)around risk for Kaposi's Sarcoma in consumers with immune conditions?

Posted by Circle Tree Ranch on 18 Jun 08 06:55 PM EDT

Does anyone know which Walgreens fills the medical marijuana prescriptions? j/k I'm not averse to its legalization of continued criminalization. The only concern I see worth examining is the potential for adolescents to do more damage to themselves. Studies show that the brains of adolescents on marijuana resemble the brains of adult schizophrenics. A higher potency could lead some users to permanent brain alterations. As for the medical marijuana advocates, most of which are not themselves candidates, the pharmaceutical industry is quite capable of developing THC pills or some other medicine to increase appetite thus eliminating the needs for smoking it.

Posted by DrugCounselor on 23 Jun 08 10:27 AM EDT

I work with teens and it is absolutely ludicrous to think that kids will adjust their consumption because marijuana is getting stronger. Mr. Earlywine is clearly out of touch with adolescent substance abuse trends. We are living in a culture of extremes; kids don't use drugs and alcohol "socially" or "responsibly;" -- they use as much as possible in a very short amount of time. The goal is to get as high or drunk as possible...and then post the outrageous behavior on YouTube or brag about it on FaceBook. Due to increasing tolerance teens using very potent marijuana will still continue to use more of it to achieve the high they seek...not less. Teens who use drugs are not concerned with moderation or how much smoke they inhale...just how "messed up" they can get. Holding a "Saturday Night in the Suburbs" program with a panel of teens to find out what's going on with the kids in your community can be very eye opening. Adults are much more likely to be effective in addressing the needs of adolescents if they truly understand what they are dealing with.

Posted by Dean Becker on 24 Jun 08 05:25 PM EDT

NIDA Scientist Dr. Donald Tashkin: "So we did a very large study which we call a ‘case-control’ study. And in that study we identified 600 patients who were diagnosed with lung cancer. An additional 600 patients or so were diagnosed with, have neck cancer, throat cancer, lip cancer, tongue cancer, and over 1,000 control subjects who did not have cancer. And then we administered a detailed questionnaire to all of these subjects including questions about marijuana use and tobacco use and family history of cancer and other putative risk factors that could predispose to cancer and the results were entirely negative--if anything, the risk for developing lung cancer was slightly less in relation to marijuana than no marijuana although not statistically significantly so. Despite the fact that the study was designed as well as we could possibly design it and it included a large number of subjects, over 100 of whom smoked marijuana heavily, both among the cases and the controls, I think we can say with some confidence that there just is no evidence of an association between marijuana use and lung cancer." www.drugtruth.net

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