cannabisnews.com: Potent Pot Worries Officials Potent Pot Worries Officials Posted by CN Staff on June 12, 2008 at 19:23:52 PT By Amanda Dolasinski, The Columbus Dispatch Source: Columbus Dispatch Ohio -- Marijuana is more potent now than at any point during the past 30 years, fueling concerns about how it's affecting users.“It's very scary when you see adolescents smoking especially potent marijuana because they're going through a developmental period for parts of the brain,” said Brad Lander, a psychologist at Ohio State University Medical Center. “It's unlikely they're going to catch up with that development.” A study by the University of Mississippi's Potency Monitoring Project found that the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, called THC, is at 9.6 percent in samples from 2007. Ten years earlier, it was at 5 percent.Marijuana use can cause difficulties with concentration, memory, learning and sexual performance. Long term, it can cause cancers of the lung and lip.Lander, who helps treat people who have failed in other recovery programs or failed screenings for jobs or sports, has noticed an increase in the plant's potency firsthand.“It's been rising steadily since the '70s,” he said.“(Most users) tend to be adolescents, anywhere between 13 and early 20s,” Lander said. “After that, you still see a lot of people smoking marijuana, but it's usually a mix with other drugs.”Last year, the Columbus police narcotics unit confiscated 7,439 pounds of marijuana, 1,397 indoor plants and 207 outdoor plants with a combined street value of almost $16 million.With the help of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the police recovered more than 2,000 plants in raids last month.“The amount of marijuana being seized is up,” said Jay Evans, commander of the narcotics bureau. “I think that it's quite substantial in central Ohio.”The Office of National Drug Control Policy said there are 14.8 million current users of marijuana who are 12 or older.“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, more research is needed to establish this link between higher THC potency and higher addiction risk,” Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said in a statement.The increased potency is not surprising, said Anthony Marotta, the Drug Enforcement Administration assistant special agent in charge of Ohio.“With fertilizers, you're going to get better corn and you're going to get better marijuana,” he said. “It's not something that all of a sudden they came out with this new hybrid. It takes time.”& amp; amp; amp; lt; /p>The University of Mississippi researchers collected more than 64,000 samples from 48 states, predominantly seized by law enforcement, including cannabis, hashish and hash oil.Source: Columbus Dispatch (OH)Author: Amanda Dolasinski, The Columbus Dispatch Published: Thursday, June 12, 2008Copyright: 2008 The Columbus DispatchContact: letters dispatch.comWebsite: http://www.dispatch.com/ Related Article:Study: Marijuana Potency Increases in 2007http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24002.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #6 posted by fight_4_freedom on June 13, 2008 at 17:42:19 PT: Cancer of the lip ay?? That's a new one. Must be getting sick of spitting out the same old B.S. propaganda. They must have decided to mix it up a little bit this time. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Storm Crow on June 13, 2008 at 08:41:13 PT Treeanna.... Here's some "supported sense" to counter the "unsupported nonsense"!Nonsense- “It's very scary when you see adolescents smoking especially potent marijuana because they're going through a developmental period for parts of the brain,”Sense- Moderate cannabis use not harmful to the brain of adolescents, M R I study finds http://www.cannabis-med.org/english/bulletin/ww_en_db_cannabis_artikel.php?id=218#3No brain structural change associated with adolescent cannabis use http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/botrender.fcgi?blobtype=html&artid=1524733Nonsense- "the possibility that the more potent THC might be more effective at triggering the changes in the brain that can lead to addiction"Sense- 10 Things Every Parent, Teenager & Teacher Should Know About Marijuana (4th Question) http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_flyer1.shtmlWomen's Guide to the UofC http://wguide.uchicago.edu/9substance.htmlNonsense- "Marijuana use can cause difficulties with concentration, memory, learning and sexual performance."Sense- Findings of a longitudinal study of effects on IQ http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/166/7/887Heavy cannabis use without long-term effect on global intelligence http://www.cannabis-med.org/english/bulletin/ww_en_db_cannabis_artikel.php?id=115#2 Marijuana does not dent IQ permanently http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2140-marijuana-does-not-dent-iq-permanently.htmlEffects of chronic marijuana use on testosterone, luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, prolactin and cortisol in men and women. http://www.anesth.uiowa.edu/readabstract.asp?PMID=1935564Nonsense- "Long term, it can cause cancers of the lung and lip."Sense- Marijuana Smoking Found Non-Carcinogenic http://www.medpagetoday.com/HematologyOncology/LungCancer/tb/3393Smoking of cannabis does not increase risk for oral cancer http://www.cannabis-med.org/english/bulletin/ww_en_db_cannabis_artikel.php?id=175#1Marijuana Ingredients Slow Invasion by Cervical and Lung Cancer Cells http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20071226/pot-slows-cancer-in-test-tubeSmoking Cannabis Does Not Cause Cancer Of Lung or Upper Airways http://ccrmg.org/journal/05aut/nocancer.htmlDontcha just hate it when false claims (in other words- LIES!) are made without a shred of evidence to support them? [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by NikoKun on June 13, 2008 at 01:00:39 PT The most BS claim in this article... "“(Most users) tend to be adolescents, anywhere between 13 and early 20s,” Lander said. “After that, you still see a lot of people smoking marijuana, but it's usually a mix with other drugs.”" Wow... I didn't notice that before... but wow... That has to be the most bullshit claim I've heard in a while. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by NikoKun on June 13, 2008 at 00:57:36 PT These reports only support legalization. They love putting out this stuff, to scare people... Oh noes, dangerous potent Marijuana! They make the claim every year.But there is just so many things wrong about such a claim. I could go on and on.Lets just pick a couple.Stronger pot equals less smoke inhaled into the lungs. Cannabis users aren't getting more and more high, that wouldn't do them any good. It would just make them uncomfortable and paranoid. Most users have a comfort level, which they like to reach, and they don't go much beyond that. So more potent Marijuana means they use less, And that can only be a good thing.And another big key point. If they are worried about Potency, then it is their own fault. Prohibition is what pushes up potency. Look at history, at Alcohol Prohibition. Alcoholic drinks increased in potency during it's prohibition. What fixed that, was we legalized it, and regulated it. If they are worried about potency, then they should legalize Cannabis, and regulate potency!The real reason for them seeing such an increase, is that they compare the top quality stuff of today, to the low quality ditch-weed-hemp that they found in the 60s.But whatever. Anyone willing to analyze these claims logically, will see that this whole issue is only more of a reason to legalize it! [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by JohnO on June 12, 2008 at 22:51:45 PT: My God, if you don't want kids buying potent pot, pass a law to mandate ID checks for underage smokers at the 7-11 just like you did with tobacco, but leave the rest of us out of your regulation scheme. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Treeanna on June 12, 2008 at 21:38:24 PT Unsupported nonsense "Marijuana use can cause difficulties with concentration, memory, learning and sexual performance. Long term, it can cause cancers of the lung and lip."Says who? [ Post Comment ] Post Comment