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Unfortunately the paper done on amphetamines relies upon the drug war bureaucracy for “facts”. In 1971 there was an international symposium which reviewed the research on amphetamines
and found it to be remarkable safe. That conclusion is sound today. It would be gross distortion to use as research subjects skid row winos for generalizations about the effects
of wine and alcohol, yet the equivalent is done for amphetamines. Therefore I
have not used the drugwarfacts.org article on amphetamines.--jk
Marijuana
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1.
In 2003, 45 percent of the 1,678,192 total arrests for drug abuse violations were for marijuana -- a total
of 755,186. Of those, 662,886 people were arrested for marijuana possession alone. This is an increase from 2000, when a total
of 734,497 Americans were arrested for marijuana offenses, of which 646,042 were for possession alone.
Marijuana Arrests and Total Drug Arrests in the US |
Year |
Total Drug Arrests |
Total Marijuana Arrests |
Marijuana Trafficking/Sale Arrests |
Marijuana Possession Arrests |
2003 |
1,678,192 |
755,186 |
92,300 |
662,886 |
2002 |
1,538,813 |
697,082 |
83,096 |
613,986 |
2001 |
1,586,902 |
723,628 |
82,519 |
641,109 |
2000 |
1,579,566 |
734,497 |
88,455 |
646,042 |
1999 |
1,532,200 |
704,812 |
84,271 |
620,541 |
1998 |
1,559,100 |
682,885 |
84,191 |
598,694 |
1995 |
1,476,100 |
588,964 |
85,614 |
503,350 |
1990 |
1,089,500 |
326,850 |
66,460 |
260,390 |
1980 |
580,900 |
401,982 |
63,318 |
338,664 |
Sources:
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in America: FBI Uniform Crime Reports 2003 (Washington, DC: US Government Printing
Office, 2004), p.269, Table 4.1 & p. 270, Table 29; Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in America: FBI Uniform Crime
Reports 2002 (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 2003), p. 234, Table 4.1 & and p. 234, Table 29; Federal
Bureau of Investigation, Crime in America: FBI Uniform Crime Reports 2001 (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office,
2002), p. 232, Table 4.1 & and p. 233, Table 29; Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reports for the United
States 2000 (Washington DC: US Government Printing Office, 2001), pp. 215-216, Tables 29 and 4.1; Uniform Crime Reports for
the United States 1999 (Washington DC: US Government Printing Office, 2000), pp. 211-212; Federal Bureau of Investigation,
Uniform Crime Reports for the United States 1998 (Washington DC: US Government Printing Office, 1999), pp. 209-210; FBI, UCR
for the US 1995 (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1996), pp. 207-208; FBI, UCR for the US 1990 (Washington,
DC: US Government Printing Office, 1991), pp. 173-174; FBI, UCR for the US 1980 (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office,
1981), pp. 189-191.
2. According
to the UN's estimate, 141 million people around the world use marijuana. This represents about 2.5 percent of the world population.
Source: United Nations Office
for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, Global Illicit Drug Trends 1999 (New York, NY: UNODCCP, 1999), p. 91.
3. Marijuana
was first federally prohibited in 1937. Today, more than 83 million Americans admit to having tried it.
Sources: Marihuana Tax Act of
1937; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Summary of Findings from the 2001 National Household Survey
on Drug Abuse (Rockville, MD: Department of Health and Human Services, 2002), Table H.1, from the web at http:://www.samhsa.gov/oas/NHSDA/2k1NHSDA/vol2/appendixh_1.htm, last accessed Sept. 16, 2002.
4. "Tetrahydrocannabinol
is a very safe drug. Laboratory animals (rats, mice, dogs, monkeys) can tolerate doses of up to 1,000 mg/kg (milligrams per
kilogram). This would be equivalent to a 70 kg person swallowing 70 grams of the drug -- about 5,000 times more than is required
to produce a high. Despite the widespread illicit use of cannabis there are very few if any instances of people dying from
an overdose. In Britain, official government statistics listed five deaths from cannabis in the period 1993-1995 but on closer
examination these proved to have been deaths due to inhalation of vomit that could not be directly attributed to cannabis
(House of Lords Report, 1998). By comparison with other commonly used recreational drugs these statistics are impressive."
Source: Iversen, Leslie L.,
PhD, FRS, "The Science of Marijuana" (London, England: Oxford University Press, 2000), p. 178, citing House of Lords, Select
Committee on Science and Technology, "Cannabis -- The Scientific and Medical Evidence" (London, England: The Stationery Office,
Parliament, 1998).
5. "A
review of the literature suggests that the majority of cannabis users, who use the drug occasionally rather than on a daily
basis, will not suffer any lasting physical or mental harm. Conversely, as with other ‘recreational’ drugs, there
will be some who suffer adverse consequences from their use of cannabis. Some individuals who have psychotic thought tendencies
might risk precipitating psychotic illness. Those who consume large doses of the drug on a regular basis are likely to have
lower educational achievement and lower income, and may suffer physical damage to the airways. They also run a significant
risk of becoming dependent upon continuing use of the drug. There is little evidence, however, that these adverse effects
persist after drug use stops or that any direct cause and effect relationships are involved."
Source: Iversen, Leslie L.,
PhD, FRS, "Long-Term Effects of Exposure to Cannabis," Current Opinion in Pharmacology, Feb. 2005, Vol. 5, No. 1, p. 71.
6. According
to research published in the journal Addiction, "First, the use of cannabis and rates of psychotic symptoms were related to
each other, independently of observed/non-observed fixed covariates and observed time dynamic factors (Table 2). Secondly,
the results of structural equation modelling suggest that the direction of causation is that the use of cannabis leads to
increases in levels of psychotic symptoms rather than psychotic symptoms increasing the use of cannabis. Indeed, there is
a suggestion from the model results that increases in psychotic symptoms may inhibit the use of cannabis."
Source: Fergusson, David M., John
Horwood & Elizabeth M. Ridder, "Tests of Causal Linkages Between Cannabis Use and Psychotic Symptoms," Addiction, Vol. 100, No. 3, March 2005, p. 363.
7. The
Christchurch Press reported on March 22, 2005, that "The lead researcher in the Christchurch study, Professor David Fergusson,
said the role of cannabis in psychosis was not sufficient on its own to guide legislation. 'The result suggests heavy use
can result in adverse side-effects,' he said. 'That can occur with ( heavy use of ) any substance. It can occur with milk.'
Fergusson's research, released this month, concluded that heavy cannabis smokers were 1.5 times more likely to suffer symptoms
of psychosis that non-users. The study was the latest in several reports based on a cohort of about 1000 people born in Christchurch
over a four-month period in 1977. An effective way to deal with cannabis use would be to incrementally reduce penalties and
carefully evaluate its impact, Fergusson said. 'Reduce the penalty, like a parking fine. You could then monitor ( the impact
) after five or six years. If it did not change, you might want to take another step.'
Source: Bleakley, Louise, "NZ Study
Used in UK Drug Review," The Press (Christchurch, New Zealand: March 22, 2005), from the web at http://www.mapinc.org/newscsdp/v05/n490/a08.html, last accessed March 28, 2005.
8. "The
results of our meta-analytic study failed to reveal a substantial, systematic effect of long-term, regular cannabis consumption
on the neurocognitive functioning of users who were not acutely intoxicated. For six of the eight neurocognitive ability areas
that were surveyed. the confidence intervals for the average effect sizes across studies overlapped zero in each instance,
indicating that the effect size could not be distinguished from zero. The two exceptions were in the domains of learning and
forgetting."
Source: Grant, Igor, et al.,
"Non-Acute (Residual) Neurocognitive Effects Of Cannabis Use: A Meta-Analytic Study," Journal of the International Neuropsychological
Society (Cambridge University Press: July 2003), 9, p. 685.
9. "These
results can be interpreted in several ways. A statistically reliable negative effect was observed in the domain of learning
and forgetting, suggesting that chronic long-term cannabis use results in a selective memory defect. While the results are
compatible with this conclusion, the effect size for both domains was of a very small magnitude. The "real life" impact of
such a small and selective effect is questionable. In addition, it is important to note that most users across studies had
histories of heavy longterm cannabis consumption. Therefore, these findings are not likely to generalize to more limited administration
of cannabis compounds, as would be seen in a medical setting."
Source: Grant, Igor, et al.,
"Non-Acute (Residual) Neurocognitive Effects Of Cannabis Use: A Meta-Analytic Study," Journal of the International Neuropsychological
Society (Cambridge University Press: July 2003), 9, p. 686.
10. "In conclusion, our meta-analysis
of studies that have attempted to address the question of longer term neurocognitive disturbance in moderate and heavy cannabis
users has failed to demonstrate a substantial, systematic, and detrimental effect of cannabis use on neuropsychological performance.
It was surprising to find such few and small effects given that most of the potential biases inherent in our analyses actually
increased the likelihood of finding a cannabis effect."
Source: Grant, Igor, et al.,
"Non-Acute (Residual) Neurocognitive Effects Of Cannabis Use: A Meta-Analytic Study," Journal of the International Neuropsychological
Society (Cambridge University Press: July 2003), 9, p. 687.
11. "Nevertheless, when considering
all 15 studies (i.e., those that met both strict and more relaxed criteria) we only noted that regular cannabis users performed
worse on memory tests, but that the magnitude of the effect was very small. The small magnitude of effect sizes from observations
of chronic users of cannabis suggests that cannabis compounds, if found to have therapeutic value, should have a good margin
of safety from a neurocognitive standpoint under the more limited conditions of exposure that would likely obtain in a medical
setting."
Source: Grant, Igor, et al.,
"Non-Acute (Residual) Neurocognitive Effects Of Cannabis Use: A Meta-Analytic Study," Journal of the International Neuropsychological
Society (Cambridge University Press: July 2003), 9, pp. 687-8.
12. A Johns Hopkins study
published in May 1999, examined marijuana's effects on cognition on 1,318 participants over a 15 year period. Researchers
reported "no significant differences in cognitive decline between heavy users, light users, and nonusers of cannabis." They
also found "no male-female differences in cognitive decline in relation to cannabis use." "These results ... seem to provide
strong evidence of the absence of a long-term residual effect of cannabis use on cognition," they concluded.
Source: Constantine G. Lyketsos,
Elizabeth Garrett, Kung-Yee Liang, and James C. Anthony. (1999). "Cannabis Use and Cognitive Decline in Persons under 65 Years
of Age," American Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 149, No. 9.
13. "Current marijuana use
had a negative effect on global IQ score only in subjects who smoked 5 or more joints per week. A negative effect was not
observed among subjects who had previously been heavy users but were no longer using the substance. We conclude that marijuana
does not have a long-term negative impact on global intelligence. Whether the absence of a residual marijuana effect would
also be evident in more specific cognitive domains such as memory and attention remains to be ascertained."
Source: Fried, Peter, Barbara
Watkinson, Deborah James, and Robert Gray, "Current and former marijuana use: preliminary findings of a longitudinal study
of effects on IQ in young adults," Canadian Medical Association Journal, April 2, 2002, 166(7), p. 887.
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1. "Although
the heavy current users experienced a decrease in IQ score, their scores were still above average at the young adult assessment
(mean 105.1). If we had not assessed preteen IQ, these subjects would have appeared to be functioning normally. Only with
knowledge of the change in IQ score does the negative impact of current heavy use become apparent."
Source: Fried,
Peter, Barbara Watkinson, Deborah James, and Robert Gray, "Current and former marijuana use: preliminary findings of a longitudinal
study of effects on IQ in young adults," Canadian Medical Association Journal, April 2, 2002, 166(7), p. 890.
2. In
March 1999, the Institute of Medicine issued a report on various aspects of marijuana, including the so-called Gateway Theory
(the theory that using marijuana leads people to use harder drugs like cocaine and heroin). The IOM stated, "There is no conclusive
evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs."
Source: Janet E. Joy,
Stanley J. Watson, Jr., and John A Benson, Jr., "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base," Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Research, Institute of Medicine (Washington,
DC: National Academy Press, 1999).
3. The
Institute of Medicine's 1999 report on marijuana explained that marijuana has been mistaken for a gateway drug in the past
because "Patterns in progression of drug use from adolescence to adulthood are strikingly regular. Because it is the most
widely used illicit drug, marijuana is predictably the first illicit drug most people encounter. Not surprisingly, most users
of other illicit drugs have used marijuana first. In fact, most drug users begin with alcohol and nicotine before marijuana,
usually before they are of legal age."
Source: Janet E. Joy,
Stanley J. Watson, Jr., and John A Benson, Jr., "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base," Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Research, Institute of Medicine (Washington,
DC: National Academy Press, 1999).
4. A
1999 federal report conducted by the Institute of Medicine found that, "For most people, the primary adverse effect of acute
marijuana use is diminished psychomotor performance. It is, therefore, inadvisable to operate any vehicle or potentially dangerous
equipment while under the influence of marijuana, THC, or any cannabinoid drug with comparable effects."
Source: Janet E. Joy,
Stanley J. Watson, Jr., and John A Benson, Jr., "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base," Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Research, Institute of Medicine (Washington,
DC: National Academy Press, 1999).
5. The
DEA's Administrative Law Judge, Francis Young concluded: "In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we
commonly consume. For example, eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible
to eat enough marijuana to induce death. Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances
known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within the supervised routine of medical care.:
Source: US Department
of Justice, Drug Enforcement Agency, "In the Matter of Marijuana Rescheduling Petition," [Docket #86-22], (September 6, 1988),
p. 57.
6. Commissioned
by President Nixon in 1972, the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse concluded that "Marihuana's relative potential
for harm to the vast majority of individual users and its actual impact on society does not justify a social policy designed
to seek out and firmly punish those who use it. This judgment is based on prevalent use patterns, on behavior exhibited by
the vast majority of users and on our interpretations of existing medical and scientific data. This position also is consistent
with the estimate by law enforcement personnel that the elimination of use is unattainable."
Source: Shafer,
Raymond P., et al, Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding, Ch. V, (Washington DC: National Commission on Marihuana and Drug
Abuse, 1972).
7. When
examining the relationship between marijuana use and violent crime, the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse concluded,
"Rather than inducing violent or aggressive behavior through its purported effects of lowering inhibitions, weakening impulse
control and heightening aggressive tendencies, marihuana was usually found to inhibit the expression of aggressive impulses
by pacifying the user, interfering with muscular coordination, reducing psychomotor activities and generally producing states
of drowsiness lethargy, timidity and passivity."
Source: Shafer,
Raymond P., et al, Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding, Ch. III, (Washington DC: National Commission on Marihuana and
Drug Abuse, 1972).
8. When
examining the medical affects of marijuana use, the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse concluded, "A careful
search of the literature and testimony of the nation's health officials has not revealed a single human fatality in the United
States proven to have resulted solely from ingestion of marihuana. Experiments with the drug in monkeys demonstrated that
the dose required for overdose death was enormous and for all practical purposes unachievable by humans smoking marihuana.
This is in marked contrast to other substances in common use, most notably alcohol and barbiturate sleeping pills. The WHO
reached the same conclusion in 1995.
Source: Shafer,
Raymond P., et al, Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding, Ch. III, (Washington DC: National Commission on Marihuana and
Drug Abuse, 1972); Hall, W., Room, R. & Bondy, S., WHO Project on Health Implications of Cannabis Use: A Comparative Appraisal
of the Health and Psychological Consequences of Alcohol, Cannabis, Nicotine and Opiate Use, August 28, 1995, (Geneva, Switzerland:
World Health Organization, March 1998).
9. The
World Health Organization released a study in March 1998 that states: "there are good reasons for saying that [the risks from
cannabis] would be unlikely to seriously [compare to] the public health risks of alcohol and tobacco even if as many people
used cannabis as now drink alcohol or smoke tobacco."
Source: Hall,
W., Room, R. & Bondy, S., WHO Project on Health Implications of Cannabis Use: A Comparative Appraisal of the Health and
Psychological Consequences of Alcohol, Cannabis, Nicotine and Opiate Use, August 28, 1995, (contained in original version,
but deleted from official version) (Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, March 1998).
10. The authors of a 1998
World Health Organization report comparing marijuana, alcohol, nicotine and opiates quote the Institute of Medicine's 1982
report stating that there is no evidence that smoking marijuana "exerts a permanently deleterious effect on the normal cardiovascular
system."
Source: Hall,
W., Room, R. & Bondy, S., WHO Project on Health Implications of Cannabis Use: A Comparative Appraisal of the Health and
Psychological Consequences of Alcohol, Cannabis, Nicotine and Opiate Use, August 28, 1995 (Geneva, Switzerland: World Health
Organization, March 1998).
11. Some claim that cannabis
use leads to "adult amotivation." The World Health Organization report addresses the issue and states, "it is doubtful that
cannabis use produces a well defined amotivational syndrome." The report also notes that the value of studies which support
the "adult amotivation" theory are "limited by their small sample sizes" and lack of representative social/cultural groups.
Source: Hall,
W., Room, R. & Bondy, S., WHO Project on Health Implications of Cannabis Use: A Comparative Appraisal of the Health and
Psychological Consequences of Alcohol, Cannabis, Nicotine and Opiate Use, August 28, 1995 (Geneva, Switzerland: World Health
Organization, March 1998).
12. Australian researchers
found that regions giving on-the-spot fines to marijuana users rather than harsher criminal penalties did not cause marijuana
use to increase.
Source: Ali, Robert,
et al., The Social Impacts of the Cannabis Expiation Notice Scheme in South Australia: Summary Report (Canberra, Australia:
Department of Health and Aged Care, 1999), p. 44.
13. Since 1969, government-appointed
commissions in the United States, Canada, England, Australia, and the Netherlands concluded, after reviewing the scientific
evidence, that marijuana's dangers had previously been greatly exaggerated, and urged lawmakers to drastically reduce or eliminate
penalties for marijuana possession.
Source: Advisory Committee
on Drug Dependence, Cannabis (London, England: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1969); Canadian Government Commission of Inquiry,
The Non-Medical Use of Drugs (Ottawa, Canada: Information Canada, 1970); The National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse,
Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding, (Nixon-Shafer Report) (Washington, DC: USGPO, 1972); Werkgroep Verdovende Middelen,
Background and Risks of Drug Use (The Hague, The Netherlands: Staatsuigeverij, 1972); Senate Standing Committee on Social
Welfare, Drug Problems in Australia-An Intoxicated Society (Canberra, Australia: Australian Government Publishing Service,
1977); Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, "The classification of cannabis under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971" (London,
England, UK: Home Office, March 2002), available on the web from http://www.drugs.gov.uk/ReportsandPublications/Communities/1034155489/Classific_Cannabis_MisuseDrugsAct1971.pdf ; House of Commons Home Affairs Committee Third Report, "The Government's Drugs Policy:
Is It Working?" (London, England, UK: Parliament, May 9, 2002), from the web at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmselect/cmhaff/318/31802.htm and "Cannabis: Our Position for a Canadian Public Policy," report of the Canadian
Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs (Ottawa, Canada: Senate of Canada, September 2002).
14. The Canadian Senate's
Special Committee on Illegal Drugs recommended in its 2002 final report on cannabis policy that "the Government of Canada
amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to create a criminal exemption scheme. This legislation should stipulate the
conditions for obtaining licenses as well as for producing and selling cannabis; criminal penalties for illegal trafficking
and export; and the preservation of criminal penalties for all activities falling outside the scope of the exemption scheme."
Source: "Cannabis:
Our Position for a Canadian Public Policy," report of the Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs (Ottawa, Canada:
Senate of Canada, September 2002), p. 46.
15. The United Kingdom officially
downgraded the classification of cannabis from Class B to Class C effective Jan. 29, 2004. The London Guardian reported that
"Under the switch, cannabis will be ranked alongside bodybuilding steroids and some anti-depressants. Possession of cannabis
will no longer be an arrestable offence in most cases, although police will retain the power to arrest users in certain aggravated
situations - such as when the drug is smoked outside schools. The home secretary, David Blunkett, has said the change in the
law is necessary to enable police to spend more time tackling class A drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine which cause the
most harm and trigger far more crime."
Source: Tempest,
Matthew, "MPs Vote To Downgrade Cannabis," The Guardian (London, England), Oct. 29, 2003.
16. UK Home Secretary David
Blunkett announced in July 2002 that "We must concentrate our efforts on the drugs that cause the most harm, while sending
a credible message to young people. I will therefore ask Parliament to reclassify cannabis from Class B to Class C. I have
considered the recommendations of the Home Affairs Committee, and the advice given me by the ACMD medical experts that the
current classification of cannabis is disproportionate in relation to the harm that it causes."
Source: "'All
Controlled Drugs Harmful, All Will Remain Illegal' - Home Secretary," News Release, Office of the Home Secretary, Government
of the United Kingdom, July 10, 2002, from the web at http://213.219.10.30/n_story.asp?item_id=143 last accessed July 31,
2002.
17. In May of 1998, the Canadian
Centre on Substance Abuse, National Working Group on Addictions Policy released policy a discussion document which recommended,
"The severity of punishment for a cannabis possession charge should be reduced. Specifically, cannabis possession should be
converted to a civil violation under the Contraventions Act." The paper further noted that, "The available evidence indicates
that removal of jail as a sentencing option would lead to considerable cost savings without leading to increases in rates
of cannabis use."
Source: Single,
Eric, Cannabis Control in Canada: Options Regarding Possession (Ottawa, Canada: Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, May 1998).
18. "Our conclusion is that
the present law on cannabis produces more harm than it prevents. It is very expensive of the time and resources of the criminal
justice system and especially of the police. It inevitably bears more heavily on young people in the streets of inner cities,
who are also more likely to be from minority ethnic communities, and as such is inimical to police-community relations. It
criminalizes large numbers of otherwise law-abiding, mainly young, people to the detriment of their futures. It has become
a proxy for the control of public order; and it inhibits accurate education about the relative risks of different drugs including
the risks of cannabis itself."
Source: Police
Foundation of the United Kingdom, "Drugs and the Law: Report of the Independent Inquiry into the Misuse of Drugs Act of 1971",
April 4, 2000. The Police Foundation, based in London, England, is a nonprofit organization presided over by Charles, Crown
Prince of Wales, which promotes research, debate and publication to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of policing in
the UK.
19. According to the federal
Potency Monitoring Project, the average potency of marijuana has increased very little since the 1980s. The Project reports
that 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).
20. "Statements in the popular
media that the potency of cannabis has increased by ten times or more in recent decades are not support by the data from either
the USA or Europe. As discussed in the body of this report, systematic data are not available in Europe on long-term trends
and analytical and methodological issues complicate the interpretation of the information that is available. Data are stronger
for medium and short-term trends where no major differences are apparent in Europe, although some modest increases are found
in some countries. The greatest long-term changes in potency appear to have occurred in the USA. It should be noted here that
before 1980 herbal cannabis potency in the USA was, according to the available data, very low by European standards."
Source: European
Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, "EMCDDA Insights - An Overview of Cannabis Potency in Europe (Luxembourg:
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2004), p. 59.
21. "Although marijuana grown
in the United States was once considered inferior because of a low concentration of THC, advancements in plant selection and
cultivation have resulted in higher THC-containing domestic marijuana. In 1974, the average THC content of illicit marijuana
was less than one percent. Today most commercial grade marijuana from Mexico/Columbia and domestic outdoor cultivated marijuana
has an average THC content of about 4 to 6 percent. Between 1998 and 2002, NIDA-sponsored Marijuana Potency Monitoring System
(MPMP) analyzed 4,603 domestic samples. Of those samples, 379 tested over 15 percent THC, 69 samples tested between 20 and
25 percent THC and four samples tested over 25 percent THC."
Source: US Drug Enforcement
Administration, "Drugs of Abuse" (Washington, DC: US Dept. of Justice, 2005), from the web at http://www.dea.gov/pubs/abuse/7-pot.htm last accessed Jan. 27, 2005.
Copyright
© 2000-2005, Common Sense for Drug Policy Updated: Monday, 28-Mar-2005 11:52:40 PST ~ Accessed: 303438 times
DRUG ABUSE CAUSES HARM;
OUR DRUG LAWS GREATER HARM
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