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

[marinemomof3]

Paul:
When is the last time YOU got high??
My God, the stuff today will knock you down.
I thought I was being funny one day, a few years ago,
by 'borrowing' some of my daughters stash. (Actually ended up
throwing it away after the experience)
I was knocked on my butt!!!
I too did some in the 70's, this stuff is FULL of chemicals.
Looked awfully purple to me.......

[wndrwrthg]

Oh, you poor child. If you are trying something new, take one hit and wait. Go slow, it is true that this is not our pot of yesteryear. Purple is good, very good and without chemicals. The first purple bud I saw came from ronnie rayguns ranch at the top of Refugio canyon in Santa Barbara county. Damn it was good.

[MAUIMONKEY]

Marine mom, you're ignorance is hilarious! There are many strains of weed from all over the world, and yes, some are naturally purple. The reasons that you got so high are two-fold. One, you haven't smoked for years and are a lightweight with no tolerance. And two, the weed you smoked in high school or college was cheap crap that gave you a headache instead of a buzz. Next time you steal from your kids (I hope they were at least 18), just take one small hit, and put the rest away. If you fiend on it, you will get very buzzed. God created weed, but he also said "Thou shall not steal". Class dismissed.

[editorjuno]

Want to eliminate harmful additives? Legalize, tax, regulate purity, and sell through government outlets ala Pennsylvania's state-run, union-staffed liquor store system. Stronger pot is better -- less smoke inhaled for the same effect means less health hazard.

[WilliePilgrim]

Gad zooks. Is there anyway for the government policies on weed to become more irrelevant? Yeah, I remember when pot was lower in potency...and remember getting a head-ache and sore throat trying to smoke enough to get a buzz. Nowadays, on those celebrator­y/recreati­onal occassions when I indulge, a couple o' hit mean I can enjoy the relaxing feeling on a couple of tokes.
Now, which candidate is going to end this stupid war on people who like to responsibly use this harmless and timeless weed?

[incontempt]

I have heard of plans to decriminal­ize....thi­nk Obama..a progressive thinker;-)

[CyrusBeaucephus]

Same old "reefer madness" sh*t , different day. They spend billions to try to scare us about something most people already know is harmless. Republicans like to be scared, the rest of us--not so much

[wadenelson1]

The first good news I've read on Huffpo in six months and you have to go and ruin it for me.

[GrainOSand]

In other words, there is no potency to the feds rhetoric.

I covet living in the society that does not entice so many to seek escape through drugs, which is what drug use is -- escapism. The problem with tripping is coming home. America continues to attack symptoms of disease rather than disease itself. If America really wanted to stop drug use, it would undertake a landmark national psychological assessment that left no stone unturned in looking at the mental health of a nation and identifying the forms of psychosis and neurosis within that lead to substance use/abuse.

Until then, people are going to seek escape from a world seemingly gone mad at times. Lastly, addiction takes many forms and all forms are dangerous. Workaholics are killing themselves. A sex-aholic is risking death and perverting intimacy that should be expressive of love or at least serious like. A greedy person is addicted to money and there is a price to pay for the addiction -- Bernie Ebbers and Jeffrey Skilling come to mind.

Put down the pipe and confront the hype in your mind for there is no escaping the mind there is only impairment of the mind through poison. There is only temporary escape from the life-long problem of living and thus there is no escape.

PS: The 100% THC pill just shows the government’s need to be the pusher that controls access to the market, versus the caring entity that desires to end any usage.

[degobah]

Duuude!

Most people I know, including myself, smoke pot not to escape some dismal aspect of our lives... but because it's fun! It is the ultimate social lubricant, and it makes doing many mundane things like yard work or cleaning the garage so much more interesting.

I'll tell you this much, I know that my kids smoke pot as do most of their friends. I allow it but do my best to control it. I look at my kids' friends - who come to our house to party because it's OK with me under supervision (plus I get free tokes from 'em) - and a good percentage of their parents have no idea that they smoke weed. And, more often then not, these are the same kids who smoke way too much and typically try out other drugs like Ecstasy, Coke, Meth, Acid, etc. My kids avoid those drugs like the plague, so who's the more effective parent? Those who say NO, NO, NO, and turn a blind eye to reality? Or, myself who acknowledges reality and seeks to influence potentially destructive behavior.

I don't mean to punch a hole in your balloon, but you are undoubtedly barking up the wrong tree if you think solving social ills will eliminate drug use. Much better to legalize it and teach people how to use it without abusing it. Perhaps easier said then done, but the chances for success are exponentially greater. Peace and love.

Debogah from SoCal

[GrainOSand]

If you smoke weed because you like it, rock on. Yet, I can give you first hand accounts of people who utilize all different sorts of methods to escape. If life provides a natural high, why would we need to take it higher? If I am already a bee, why am I looking for a buzz? I know the fun appetite enhancing properties of herb. Yet I do not justify the fun to discount the damage. All coins are two-sided. There is a downside to drug use. I have no problem with a high America, but I have tremendous problems with a country that may seek to deaden pain or anxiety through drug use. The increases in sales of the drugs ridlin, prosac, and back in the day valium, are perfect examples. There are few monoliths. Each drug use situation is different. I was not attempting to paint all drug use as bad, I was speaking to addiction and possible reasons why, and approaches for addressing and understanding the issue that do not include incarceration.

Elvis Presley is whom I was thinking of, a pill to get up, a pill to go to sleep, and a pill to go to the bathroom. That is a whole lot of pills just to function normally. That is a whole lot of pills for someone seemingly on top of the world.

[anfractuous]

Someone so perfectly suited to the rigors of ordinary life, as you proudly profess to be, is also likely to be exceedingly dull, as you so apparently are.

[GrainOSand]

I had to re-read what I wrote in light of your analysis. My response to you is one love. You missed me totally in your assessment but I can understand why. I treat valid and invalid criticisms the same. I take them, I look at them, I check for validity, I apply the lessons (valid or invalid, there are always lessons), I discard the wrappings which are the trappings otherwise called luggage.

Remember, one love, which is my more concise message.

[RobinSeattle]

The pot today is orders of magnitude stronger than when I was using it in the 1970's (that was mostly stuff from Mexico back then) It is almost like an anaesthetic now, not the nice mellow buzz you used to get from a couple of joints back in the day.

That the potency hasn't increased in a decade is a red herring. It is indeed much stronger than it used to be. Even so, it should be legalized. It is benign enough that using up a lot of law enforcement resources to interdict it is stupid and a financial bonanza for organized crime.

[THEhillbilly]

You're right. The kids "back then" also prized what they called "Columbo." It wasn't nearly as strong as today's "home brew." Just wondering...are you sure you aren't getting into some B.C. Bud? We (in the Seattle area) are trapped between B.C. and northern California, weed-wise.

The misnamed "war on drugs" isn't exactly using up law enforcement resources. It has created tens of thousands of law enforcement jobs. Let me know if you can think of any other positive result.

[wndrwrthg]

"Trapped between B.C. and N. California, weed-wise", my god man how do you survive?

[incontempt]

it is over filling prisons with folks that don't belong there while violent criminals are released early due to lack of room....make sense to ANYONE?

[editorjuno]

...and fewer joints (meaning less unhealthy inhalation of smoke) is bad news exactly how? Btw, if what you're smoking is "anesthetic" in its effect, it's time to find a new dealer.