Don't Buy The 'Potent Pot' Hype

Government claims of highly potent pot must be taken with a grain of salt. As is the case with any black market commodity, definitive facts are difficult if not impossible to come by.

That said, even by the University of Mississippi's own admission, the average THC in domestically grown marijuana -- which comprises the bulk of the US market -- is less than five percent, a figure that's remained unchanged for nearly a decade.**

By contrast, the average strength of imported cannabis has grown in recent years. Nevertheless, non-domestic marijuana comprises only a small fraction of the domestic market. To imply that this rare, unusually potent cannabis is reflective of what is typically available on the US market is highly (and purposely) misleading.

Furthermore, it must be noted that THC -- regardless of potency -- is non-toxic and incapable of causing a fatal overdose. Currently, doctors may legally prescribe a FDA-approved pill that contains 100 percent THC, and curiously, nobody at the University of Mississippi or at the Drug Czar¹s office seems particularly concerned about it.

It should also be noted that most cannabis consumers actually prefer less potent pot, just as the majority of those who drink alcohol prefer beer or wine over hard liquor. If and when consumers encounter unusually strong varieties of marijuana, they adjust their use accordingly and smoke less.

Of course, if lawmakers and government researchers were really concerned about potential risks posed by potent marijuana, they would support regulating the drug, so that its potency would be known to the consumer.

So if today's pot is essentially the same plant it's always been ­ with any marginal increase in potency akin to the difference between a cup of tea and an espresso ­ why is the government claiming otherwise? Mainly to scare parents, particularly those millions of parents who may have, without incident, experimented with marijuana in the 1970s, when they were about the same age as their children are today. Fortunately for them, while the feds' latest "reefer rhetoric" may sound alarming, there's little substance behind the hype.

**(See: http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/pdf/FullPotencyReports.pdf, page 12)

Author's note: The author is the Deputy Director for NORML and the NORML Foundation in Washington, DC. He may be contacted at: [e-mail].

Comments

[Sciguy]

It sounds like standard government scare tactics to me. Same old, same old. But please do remember that THC, like anything else, certainly could be lethal in humans if enough is taken. This isn't enough to make it illegal, but spreading errors (not lies, errors) isn't a great idea, either.

[incontempt]

How could you possibly ingest enough thc to die? seriously? eating hashish bricks i don't think would even allow this to happen.

[Sciguy]

The same way you can drink too much water and die, or take too much aspirin and die.

[12thharmonic]

.Thirty years ago a bag of weed was full of stem and seed. These days regardles of where you are, weed is well trimmed. No seed and little stem. This would tell me we are getting more for our money now.
That said, If I was calculating strength compared to weight, I could come up with numbers like these easy. As is the case in these situations, context is missing.

One thing that frustrates me. The Depression/Pot connection.

There is an assumption that the pot comes first, then the depression. I doubt this. I think the depression comes first. The pot comes later as a way to deal with the depression. As a sufferer of anxiety for years, I can tell you it helped me cope. Compared to peers who were put on chemical anti-depressants, I fared much better. No suicidal thoughts, no aggression, no withdrawl. My loving partner went through hell getting off Efexor. It took weeks of incremental dose reduction.

And the worst part of it all, she didn't need them at all. If doctors had looked, there was a biological cause for her poor health. Once dealt with, the depression vanished.

The treatment was six months of interferon injections. A cure worse than most disease. It's an awful thing to have to go through. A joint before her injection would limit the side effects to something tolerable.

Wonder Drug? It gets my vote.
Time to be honest and adult about this subject.
Great post!

[incontempt]

I second that, I have depression and chronic pain from back and knees from my time in service, I have been treated for years with just about every anti depressant there is...creat­ing real madness and instability in my life, pain medications have wreaked havoc on my digestion system to the point where acid reducers and "movement" inducers have become a daily need.

Aside for my current digestive problems, I now treat my pain and depression with some MJ daily...no script...j­ust fear of jailtime if I get caught with it or buying it or ghasp, an attempt at growing it for myself. This is absurdly rediculous that I have to live on the darkside just to receive the best known treatment for my problems. Pot has a numbing effect on pain and a "distraction" value that makes me tolerable.­..even enjoyable for time with my family that I would otherwise be grouchy and in pain.

Thankyou for your comment, too bad we have to be seen as bad when we are upstanding folks...f*­*k the stereotypes I want my freedom.

[12thharmonic]

Cheers!
Another example since pain has been mentioned.

I have a good mate who after a hit and run accident (hit by a republical campaign worker who never saw jail time for DUI) has had five knee reconstructions. I can say ouch, can you?

Anyway, If there is no MJ to be had, he must separate codine from codine/paracetemol tablets with water. (Panadol/P­aracetimol is harsh on the liver with prolonged use) He must drink this codine water just to be able to walk. This ain't no lazy S.O.B. He's a builder of things. A former english professor and electrical engineering teacher at a university level.

The chemical pain killers would all kill him over time. The MJ does not. It gives instant relief from the pain without attacking his liver/

How can this potetialy free medicine be illegal? It makes no sense. It does however make money for some. There as they say, is the rub!

[dogman44]

Pot smokers rape, kill, go insane and jump out of windows. Jeez, haven't any of you folks seen
"Reefer Madness"? Once while smoking pot with some friends in Vietnam the question came up,
"What the hell are we doing here?" Is that subversive or what. Because I own guns I can't smoke
pot. But I can still get as drunk as I want. Now pardon me while I go out and wreck my car.
Daniel W. Scott, Carrizozo, NM

[wndrwrthg]

Yes the potency has increased and it is a good thing. When I was a lad (18) and started smoking in 1972, we bought $10.00 lids (3 or 4 finger) of mexican bunk (lots of stems and seeds), which to us rookies was fine. Then came the $15.00 two finger lids of Gold, Mohacan, Panama Red and Thai Stick ($5.00 each), stronger yes, but it lasted longer and gave a better high. From there we evolved to growing our own (cost cutting) and then enjoyed better highs and smoked less because of the rise in potency. The stronger the THC content the less you will smoke and you will enjoy it more. Let this be a lesson to you kiddies from your old uncle toker, go for QUALITY not QUANITY.

[Durango]

You forgot the $40 oz Columbian pot.

Good shit. Very good shit!

Plus Quality cuts down on the quantity of smoke in your lings.

And smoking (anything) is really not good for you.

[WorkingClass]

The war on drugs taught us that if you scare people they wont mind if you trample the constitution and the bill of rights. So we got the war on terror. Its all part of the war on freedom.

[elbzee]

Amen on that! Gotta scare da sheep to keep em in line.

[JBS]

Still, it's as bad for your health as tobacco ever was, and smoking to much of it will make you stupid.

But it's your head. Knock yourself out.

[TonalCrow]

And smoking *any* GOP will make you stupid. And that stuff's still legal.

[editorjuno]

No, given the average consumption (nobody smokes 20-30 phatties a day!) of the two it's nowhere near as bad -- and *far* less dangerous than alcohol, the prohibition of which was similarly untenable. The most dangerous thing about pot for most users is that it's smoked, and inhaling any kind of smoke is detrimental, however slightly -- given a smokeless delivery system it's potentially a miracle drug on a par with aspirin when used responsibly.

The "knock yourself out" admonition is inadvertently wise btw, because falling asleep is what more often than not prevents overconsumption of pot -- it's essentially self-limiting for all but the youngest and most wired users. Finally, increased potency would be could news for smokers, because they could obtain the same effect while inhaling less smoke.

[incontempt]

Inhalation as i understand it is far less effective then processing and ingestion i.e. brownies, butter, cookies etc so the whole inhalation danger is not a valid arguement.

[MsLiz]

I read in a newspaper article 2-3 years ago that scientists tried to link pot with lung cancer, but failed. Of course I imagine the lungs get filled with sticky gooey stuff. It is not physically addicting as tobacco is.

[elbzee]

If marijuana had not been viewed as competition to tobacco, it would still be legal. The advantages over tobacco and alcohol are countless. When my sister was dying of breast cancer, smoking was the only thing that gave her relief. The idea of vilifying pot is absurd.

[midtown]

Well, you would just happen to be DEAD WRONG. I used to think as you do until I had my thinking re-arranged by the evidence of science in the past two years.

Read these two articles:

The Greatest Story Never Told
http://www.counterpunch.org/gardner05032008.html

Pot Shrinks Tumors; Government Knew in '74
http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/9257

Cannabis destroys -- destroys, not reduces, destroys -- brain tumors like glioma...w­hat Senator Kennedy has. You can Google for the human trials that the Madrid research team mentioned in the second article accomplished with gliomas in 2007-2007.

[salvesons]

Note also the basic flaw in most of the studies done in this field.....­.they always use a "joint" to do their studies. Why? because its made of rolled paper, and the effects of smoking the paper raise the toxic levels they can report and attribute to the pot.
Really, let's be honest...e­veryone by now knows there is no real harm here either short or long term, certainly not as much as OTHER CURRENTLY LEGAL substances. So why the rank hypocrisy? Why are we letting the dumbest most fearful among us set our nation's laws based on lies and ignorance, profit and power? The simple truth is ciggarettes are obviously far worse and yet...lega­l?
So why are some legal and others not? Only one explanatio­n...our fascist government profits from it and continues to fund its police state because of it. And from a fiscal point of view it would be better to legalize and tax than to waste our tax dollars. So...On every single count you can think of, the law's obviously wrong and not in the country's best interests. Why don't we give the obvious truth a chance?

[RobinLandseadel]

Weed doesn't have an LD50. LD50 is a measurement of just how high a dosage level of a drug is required to produse a lethal dose for 50% of the population. Smoked weed simply doesn't have an LD50, you simply cannot smoke enough weed to kill yourself.

Ever spent any time watching those lame, arrogant big pharma ads with endless voiceovers of possible contraindications? You know---"possible side effects may include a boner that lasts months or death"? The worst you can come up with with weed is "smoke too much of this shit and your lungs corrode." So make ganga legal and cheap and people can make brownies. Problem solved. Face it---any drug that is an effective analgesic and has no LD50 is a miracle drug.

The drug war is an asinine joke. If you want to aid the health of the general public, go after Celebrex or Viagra, not Mother Nature.

[midtown]

"smoke too much of this shit and your lungs corrode"

Actually, not true. Cannabis protects your lungs against lung cancer according to the leading world researcher on Tabacco. See my post above for the links.

[Sciguy]

Nonsense. Weed does have an LD50 in animals (too many refs to cite), and we are - in spite of our intellectual advancements and ability to make and use tools - animals. I'd bet my bottom dollar that you certainly could smoke enough pot to kill yourself. You might have to be awfully dedicated, and smoke a huge quantity of very potent (high THC) stuff very quickly, but any substance, including water, can be lethal if too much is taken in too quickly.

I'm all for legalization of marijuana, but please... we need to have the facts at our disposal - not dispose of the facts.

[musicman42]

Speaking of facts, could you provide some of those pesky facts about being able to kill yourself with pot or is betting your bottom dollar suppose to suffice? As you said, we need FACTS at our disposal.

[battleborn1]

You seriously want that bet? I'll wager everything I own in the world, and while I'm not rich, I have enough assets that you'd be able to retire if you won. But you'd lose because you're just wrong. The only figure I've read on what you'd need to do to kill yourself smoking ghanga is something like 250 pounds every 15 minutes for several days. Which is quite impossible. I've tried. So put your money where your misinformed mouth is or can the propaganda. Or make the bet. I'm comfortable but this is America, enough is never enough. Instant gratification takes too long. I'll even go for a side bet and try to drink myself to death with water. And for all you poor gullible souls who for some reason think the U.S. government is even capable of telling the truth, stop worrying about helicopters finding your garden. As a pilot I've spent hours with people who have been growing in the same exact spot for years, and most of them couldn't even find their own garden. Deer hunters are setting up stands about the same time the plant's flowering and report it and the storm troopers come charging in with their very expensive choppers and their scary looking black DEA suits reporting that they've discovered yet another patch of killer weed. True facts. The war on drugs is really nothing more than a jobs program for agents too worthless to fight real crime.

[McJeff]

I have seen ref's to an LD50 that involved an elephant being given such a high dose of pure THC that to smoke that much would be virtually impossible. So, effectively it is close to impossible to OD. Given that, I would ask Sciguy, what is your point exactly? Do you have one or are you just posting to post?

[woodchips]

I did a brief search and what I found seems to contradict your assertion. If I understood correctly, MASSIVE doses of 100% THC can be fatal. However, given the dosages required to induce death, a similar amount of clean, organic lab rat crunchies would probably have the same effect. No amount of marijuana in its vegetative form has ever been shown to be fatal.

Millions of people all over the world smoke the stuff and have done so for hundreds, maybe thousands of years. As far I know, there are no records of fatalities from smoking marijuana.­..none. Given the size of the sample group and time span available for study, I'd say that the evidence is irrefutable.

[CaptainObvious]

About the only way you could die from *smoking* it through asphyxiation. But for that matter, smoking cigarettes or even sitting near a campfire is equally as dangerous.

For a human to actually die from THC overdose, you would need to devise a method of extracting the pure THC so that it could be injected intravenously.

[TRYKER]

Yeah, THC doubled in a year, like the "demand" for oil tripled in a year.
Same govt, same pack of lies to their same citizens. Our govt loves us!

[Clevelanded]

What I find aggravating is how much more socially and legally acceptable it is to use prescription drugs illegally, a la Rush Windbag or Cindy McSame, than it is to use "illegal" drugs.

[LiarLiarIraqsOnFire]

That's because the CorporateDrug Kingpins are more socially acceptable than the Drug Kingpins that prifit from 'illicit' drugs.

BTW, if the ReThugs were serious about stopping the 'drug trade' in America they would mandate the death penalty for any banker that launders illicit drug profits. The first time a V.P. from Goldman Sachs gets a Lethal Injection the money-laundering would end and the DrugKingpins would be out of business. Credit to George Carlin, he's been saying it for years.

[NYSF]

You must not live in Northern California!

[joebhed]

"they adjust their use accordingly and smoke less."
You know, that's a good point.
And, I hadn't thought of it either.

[anfractuous]

All I know is it's a lot harder to get than it used to be. Guess I'll have to start hanging around the schoolyard.

[incontempt]

You'll do much better hanging around a nursing home...mak­e some freinds, take an old fella fishing.

Seriously

[galaxian]

I've heard this silly Fed argument for at least 15 years now. Chances are that if you bought some weed back in high school or college (and chances are good!), then it wasn't very good stuff. But the primo pot's always been around. Now it has become highly available, and the incidents of headache inducing bud are nearly extinct here in Los Angeles--unless you want supercheap marijuana, and it is everywhere. Further, one look at a legal medical marijuana pharmacy's menu will tell you the various ranges of THC levels, and the strains weren't born yesterday. Always been that way.

[dexxjones]

i remember hearing this every few years since i was a kid along with the obligatory "and it MIGHT be more addictive!"

i wish they would study butter as stringently. THERE is a drug which kills millions!

[TonalCrow]

We need to eliminate the Drug Warriors' jobs; hardly an occupation exists that is more anti-Liberty.