{"id":1267,"date":"2009-05-15T11:12:52","date_gmt":"2009-05-15T16:12:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ezing.me\/transfer\/?p=1267"},"modified":"2014-09-23T08:36:13","modified_gmt":"2014-09-23T13:36:13","slug":"marijuanapotency051409","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/marijuanapotency051409\/","title":{"rendered":"Potency of Marijuana Seized in the U.S. More Than Doubles Since 1983"},"content":{"rendered":"

OXFORD, Miss. – Marijuana confiscated in the United States is more
\npotent than ever before, according to a news release<\/a>
\nyesterday from the Office of National Drug Control Policy.<\/p>\n

The average amount of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, marijuana’s
\npsychoactive ingredient, has reached a new high of 10.1 percent. The
\naverage reported in 1983 was just under 4 percent, so today’s pot, on
\naverage, is more than twice as potent as it was two-and-a-half decades
\nago. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The ONDCP release is based on data in the most recent quarterly report
\nfrom the University of Mississippi’s Potency Monitoring Project, which
\nhas been analyzing samples of marijuana, hashish and hash oil seized in
\nthe U.S. since 1976. The project is funded by the National Institute on
\nDrug Abuse<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As of March 15, the PM Project analyzed and compiled data on 1,500
\nsamples of products derived from Cannabis sativa<\/i> that were seized by
\nlaw enforcement agencies during 2008. These 1,500 samples represent
\nabout three-fourths of all the samples analyzed by the UM laboratory.
\nThe remaining samples were from domestic eradications.
\n\u00a0
\nAccording to the project’s report, more than 40 percent of all samples
\nanalyzed from 2008 were high potency, containing THC levels of 9
\npercent or greater. The highest concentration of THC found in a
\nmarijuana sample during the report period was 27.3 percent.<\/p>\n

The highest concentration of THC ever found in a marijuana sample was
\n37.2 percent. The sample came from a batch of marijuana seized in
\nCalifornia in September 2007. <\/p>\n

“Some of the samples we test contain a THC content of more than 30 percent,” said Mahmoud ElSohly, director of the NIDA Marijuana Project in the UM School of Pharmacy.<\/p>\n

Although ElSohly expects average THC levels to continue to rise, he believes they will top off at 15-16 percent due to the genetic limitations of Cannabis<\/i> plants.<\/p>\n


Additional Key Facts<\/b><\/p>\n

Marijuana seized at Southwest border ports-of-entry is becoming more potent, with analyses revealing a median THC concentration of 4.8 percent in 2003, 5.2 percent in 2005 and 7.3 percent in 2007.<\/p>\n

\n\"mjpotency-graph.gif\"<\/p>\n
\nGraph courtesy of ONDCP<\/i>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“Traditionally, marijuana coming into the country across the Southwest border has been low potency,” said ElSohly.\u00a0 “But that marijuana also is becoming more potent, as is marijuana from domestic sources, such as indoor growing operations.”<\/p>\n

A review of the latest Treatment Episode Data Set<\/a>\u00a0reveals that drug treatment admissions for marijuana as the primary substance of abuse have increased steadily in the United States, rising from 198,000 people in 1997 to 288,000 in 2007.<\/p>\n

According to the NIDA’s fact sheet on marijuana<\/a> , heavy marijuana use impairs a person’s ability to form memories, recall events and shift attention from one thing to another. THC also disrupts coordination and balance by binding to receptors in the cerebellum and basal ganglia, parts of the brain that regulate balance, posture, coordination and reaction time.
\n\u00a0
\n
\nIt is these effects on the brain and body that can cause accidents, with studies showing that approximately 6 percent to 11 percent of fatal accident victims test positive for THC, says NIDA’s fact sheet on drugged driving<\/a>. In many of these cases, alcohol is detected as well.<\/p>\n

Other recent studies show marijuana use can be a risk factor for the onset of schizophrenia in vulnerable individuals, and may be associated with other mental disorders, including depression and anxiety (Moore, et al., Lancet<\/a>\u00a02007; 370:319-328).<\/p>\n

For more information about the Office of National Control Policy, visit http:\/\/www.ondcp.gov<\/a> . For more information about the National Institute on Drug Abuse, visit http:\/\/www.nida.nih.gov<\/a> .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OXFORD, Miss. – Marijuana confiscated in the United States is more potent than ever before, according to a news release yesterday from the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The average amount of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, marijuana’s psychoactive ingredient, has reached a new high of 10.1 percent. The average reported in 1983 was just underRead the story …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[222],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nPotency of Marijuana Seized in the U.S. More Than Doubles Since 1983 - Ole Miss News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/marijuanapotency051409\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Potency of Marijuana Seized in the U.S. More Than Doubles Since 1983 - Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"OXFORD, Miss. – Marijuana confiscated in the United States is more potent than ever before, according to a news release yesterday from the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The average amount of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, marijuana’s psychoactive ingredient, has reached a new high of 10.1 percent. The average reported in 1983 was just underRead the story …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/marijuanapotency051409\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-09-23T13:36:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/ezing.me\/transfer\/wp-content\/uploads\/stories\/0509\/mjpotency-graph.gif\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@OleMissRebels\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@OleMissRebels\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/\",\"name\":\"Ole Miss News\",\"description\":\"The official source for University of Mississippi news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/marijuanapotency051409\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/ezing.me\/transfer\/wp-content\/uploads\/stories\/0509\/mjpotency-graph.gif\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/marijuanapotency051409\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/marijuanapotency051409\/\",\"name\":\"Potency of Marijuana Seized in the U.S. More Than Doubles Since 1983 - Ole Miss News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/marijuanapotency051409\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-09-23T13:36:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/4515cb1b4f8a759552c0827c3df56430\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/marijuanapotency051409\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/4515cb1b4f8a759552c0827c3df56430\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/0.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3e8e7562bf6d779d771ad8ce4cecd7ef?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1267"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1267"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42136,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1267\/revisions\/42136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}