Study Says Marijuana Is Now More Potent
News important to college students everywhere: Marijuana is as potent as it has been in 30 years, a report (pdf) from the University of Mississippi's Potency Monitoring Project says. The project—which is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, whose "mission is to lead the nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction"—collected and analyzed samples of seized pot from 48 states and determined that THC levels are almost double what they were in 1983.
As can be expected from information distributed by the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy, the press release included a number of ominous warnings about the increased potency of marijuana, including the risk of mental impairment, respiratory problems, addiction, the correlation between pot use and teen depression, and its status as a gateway drug. "Baby boomer parents who still think marijuana is a harmless substance need to look at the facts," it reads.
In response, an op-ed in today's Daily Mississippian from the deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws says that "government claims of highly potent pot must be taken with a grain of salt" and that while "the feds' latest 'reefer rhetoric' may sound alarming, there's little substance behind the hype." Jacob Sullum at Reason magazine also does his part to debunk some of the government's claims, attempting to poke holes in the press release's logic and accusing it of using the "usual Anslingeresque scare mongering about marijuana madness."
Tags: drugs | University of Mississippi | marijuana
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Reader Comments
OH NO YOU DON'T J.F. of WA
SO NOW ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU BLAME POT SMOKING ON YOUR LUNG CANCER??? YOU DESERVE TO BE SLAPPED! I AM 42 AND HAVE BEEN SOMKING SINCE I WAS 11? THE QUESTION I HAVE FOR YOU IS IF YOU SMOKE ANYTHING ELSE!!! I DO NOT SMOKE TOBACCO AND ANYONE THAT I HAVE EVER HEARD OF WITH CANCER AND THEY SMOKE POT THE CANCER IS BECAUSE THEY SMOKED TOBACCO AS WELL!! SOUNDS LIKE YOU SHOULD HAVE BAKED YOUR POT INSTEAD BUT I WON'T LET YOU LIE TO THE PEOPLE!!! YOU GOT CANCER ELSEWHERE!!! STOP BLAMING POT FOR YOUR PROBLEMS!!!
Marijuna
It is funny, as a prior marijuana addict. I found all the articles that would prove my usage was not harmful. I defended it to the ends of the earth. If someone found a study bashing it, I would find 5 that would prove different. Lets face it, it is not safe people, my lung cancer will prove that. I am 44 years old and dying. Defend as you wish. My husband which used the same amount as I is suffering from COPD. By the way, we both have never smoked ciggaretts. Defending it is rational to smoke.
The truth
There are many things I could say and there is good information here said by others but one thing that gets me is how it is said the there is not enough scientific research about marijuana. That is ridiculous! Our government has been studying it for many years and they continue to do so, I know people whom work for NIDA and handle the studies. I was about to ramble on but I will stop there for that part.
There is another reason I believe hemp has been demonized and prohibited and that is because you can use hemp or a byproduct of hemp to make products that currently must be made with oil byproducts or trees. The big business that is our government and also on the side of big business didn't like the competition with hemp so they decided to take care of it and make it the evil "gateway drug". Before hemp was prohibited it was grown by many of our nations founders. George Washington was a hemp farmer. In the 1800's if you had a farm in Virginia you had to grow hemp on it, that was the law. Something very twisted in the way our business....I mean our government works. Oh, and the way hemp is used to produce things like plastic and or paper like the hemp paper that our constitution was written on requires less refining than the current process now. And the way huge old trees are murdered to provide what a plant that can be regrown every year and possibly multiple times a year is a utterly brainless. Some people may say "Oh he's just one of them tree huggers" and I'm not but I do appreciate the value of trees to our earth and to our being. And yes, hemp is the same thing as marijuana.
If you think you know then learn some more.
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