From, Drug War Distortions:
http://www.drugwardistortions.org/distortion11.htm
Distortion 11: "Parents are often unaware that today's marijuana is different
from that of a generation ago, with potency levels 10 to 20 times stronger than
the marijuana with which they were familiar." US Drug Czar John Walters,
"The Myth of
'Harmless' Marijuana," Washington Post, May 1, 2002, p. A25.
False.
Federal research shows that the average potency of cannabis in the US has increased
very little. According to the federal Potency Monitoring Project, in 1985, the
average THC content of commercial-grade marijuana was 2.84%, and the average
for high-grade sinsemilla in 1985 was 7.17%. In 1995, the potency of commercial-grade
marijuana averaged 3.73%, while the potency of sinsemilla in 1995 averaged 7.51%.
In 2001, commercial-grade marijuana averaged 4.72% THC, and the potency of sinsemilla
in 2001 averaged 9.03%.
Source: Quarterly Report #76, Nov. 9, 2001-Feb. 8, 2002, Table 3, p. 8, University
of Mississippi Potency Monitoring Project (Oxford, MS: National Center for the
Development of Natural Products, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
2002), Mahmoud A. ElSohly, PhD, Director, NIDA Marijuana Project (NIDA Contract
#N01DA-0-7707).
Even the Drug Enforcement Administration concedes ( "Drug
Intelligence Brief: The Cannabis Situation in the United States, December 1999")
that "According to University of Mississippi analyses, the THC content
of commercial-grade marijuana has risen slowly over the years from an average
of 3.71 percent in 1985 to an average of 5.57 percent in 1998. These analyses
also show a corresponding rise in sinsemilla THC content from 7.28 percent in
1985 to 12.32 percent in 1998." More recently, the US National Drug Intelligence
Center's "National Drug Threat Assessment 2002 " report, released
December 2001, stated that "Overall, potency, as characterized by THC content,
is still increasing. According to data from the Potency Monitoring Project,
the THC content of commercial-grade marijuana increased from 1997 to 2000 for
commercial-grade (4.25% to 4.92%) and for sinsemilla (11.62% to 13.20%)."
As noted by the DEA, "The Cannabis Potency Monitoring Project, sponsored
by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and conducted by the Research
Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Mississippi, is the
indicator program that tracks changes in the delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
content (the potency) of cannabis (marijuana, hashish, and hashish oil) seized
in the United States. THC, one of the 61 cannabinoids among more than 400 compounds
found in the cannabis plant, is the principal psychoactive component in the
plant. Potency is expressed as the percentage of THC per dry weight of plant
material." The following table is taken directly from the DEA website,
last accessed May 5, 2002.
Average THC Content of Marijuana
| percent |
1985 |
1992 |
1993 |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
| Commercial |
3.71
|
3.97
|
4.52
|
4.25
|
4.19
|
4.77
|
5.56
|
5.57
|
| Sinsemilla |
7.28
|
8.57
|
5.77
|
7.49
|
7.51
|
9.23
|
11.55
|
12.32
|
