Regards, Ivan
Posted on 07/25/2004 1:12:55 AM PDT by MadIvan
New super-strength marijuana readily available on US streets is prompting the White House to change direction in its war against drugs.
Research from the government-sponsored Marijuana Potency Project claims today's cannabis is more than twice as strong as in the mid-Eighties, leading to greater health risks for those smoking it at increasingly younger ages.
Now President George Bush, who had already promised a more aggressive campaign against substance abuse, has ordered that resources be allocated to fighting so-called 'soft' drugs instead of concentrating on harder forms, such as heroin and cocaine.
'We are working hard on education, but unfortunately a lot of today's parents are under the impression marijuana is harmless and that their kids trying it is some kind of rite of passage,' said Jennifer de Vallance, of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
'They might have had experience in their own teenage years with no problems, but this is not the same marijuana as in the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties. Today's forms are much stronger and potentially more harmful, especially to young people whose brains are not fully developed and are therefore more susceptible to adverse reactions.'
The Marijuana Potency Project, at the University of Mississippi, analysed more than 30,000 samples seized over the past 18 years by the authorities. It found that the average level of the active ingredient in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), jumped from 3.5 per cent in 1985 to more than 7 per cent in 2003.
Of more concern to the analysts is that the upward trend appears to be continuing. The average potency of 20 marijuana samples seized and tested so far this year exceeds 9 per cent, with a peak of 27 per cent in one batch from a state in the North West.
'Today's marijuana is a much more serious problem than the vast majority of Americans understands,' said John Walters, the government's director of drug control policy who has promised a clampdown on producers.
Those who support the legalisation of cannabis are not convinced. 'Whenever government officials speak about drugs issues, a more detailed examination of the facts is a good idea,' said David Borden, executive director of the Washington-based Drug Reform Coordination Network.
'These projects are always government-funded and, without criticising the researchers, officials take what they want from it and send out their press releases. There has always been a wide range of potencies. It doesn't mean people are getting more intoxicated, because the higher the potency, the less they smoke.'
Figures suggest overall drug use in America's high schools has fallen by 11 per cent in two years but the National Centre on Addiction and Substance Abuse reports the number of children and teenagers receiving treatment for marijuana abuse jumped 142 per cent over the last decade, and that emergency hospital admissions of 12 to 17-year-olds in which marijuana was implicated rose 48 per cent in four years.
Borden acknowledges children must be steered away from drugs, but says: 'Their anti-drugs efforts have had a paradoxical effect in promoting the underground cultivation of marijuana. The number of users makes it an appealing target and there is no limit to the number of arrests that can be made, and the government uses those numbers to scare the public into thinking there is some big problem.
'All the government has been able to do is encourage people to experiment with stronger drugs than they would have before.'
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
Stop worrying about roaches as the house burns.
You said it far better than I ever could.
Hm, this isn't going to make the druggie types very happy.
As for Dubya's hand in this push, well, god love him but man he can be a dumb ass sometimes. Heaven forbid he worry about our open borders and the muslims amongst us. Nope, best we tune the War on Drugs. Here's an idea George: Let mom and dad deal with little johnny's stinky shoe box and you get on with kickin Islamic and/or Illegal Immigrant ass.
YEAH DAMNIT! We cannot walk & chew gum at the same friggin time! Geez.
"WarOnDrugs"
It's pre-electioneering/posturing Dupe-Relationz razzmatazz. Law Enforcement folks will [if you go to TX/AZ/NM/CA/OR/WA, erm, ALL BORDER STATES] explain/show you the problem areas, and complain that there is NO REAL FUNDING to curb/halt/eliminate the problem...WoD is major PORK BARREL it is not doing ANYTHING to help LEO's on the street. The Pharmaceutical Industry does not really want the cross-border Drug Smugling to stop...Think about that, ask yourself why I make that statement, ask some Policeperson you know.
{hint, Emergency Room Pharm P R O F I T}
Weed is twice as strong as it used to be? I haven't smoked a doobie since 1972, but I think I'm gonna try it again!
Well said...
Instead of re-instating "Reefer Madness", turn that hyper-critical gaze to our borders.
Big Government to the rescue!!!Quick...Come and save us from ourselves!
God forbid some evil bastard should get away with sparkin' up a spliff and polishing off a bag of Doritos in his own home.
Finally the Feds are poised to get tougher. Spend as much of our tax $$$$ as it takes. Do something about this!!
As for Dubya's hand in this push, well, god love him but man he can be a dumb ass sometimes. Heaven forbid he worry about our open borders and the muslims amongst us. Nope, best we tune the War on Drugs. Here's an idea George: Let mom and dad deal with little johnny's stinky shoe box and you get on with kickin Islamic and/or Illegal Immigrant ass.
What do you think he has, tunnel vision. He is our President of these United States ( not the dumb ass that you say he is, very disrespectful I must say, shame on you), and has to deal with every problem, I can't even imagine waking up every morning to his load.
It doesn't make a lot of sense to spend a lot of money going after something that's really not as bad as, say, a lifetime of heavy drinking. People make choices, it's probably a better investment to try and teach them to make good ones then it is to try and change someone's way of life ten years later.
"Instead of re-instating "Reefer Madness", turn that hyper-critical gaze to our borders."
No, it's much better to spend huge amounts of time and resources trying to make sure people don't 'ruin their lives'. Problems like illegal immigration and terrorism are just sideshow distractions to the real problem: People getting a buzz and NOT doing it with booze!
It's a cry for more funding.
"Look how bad we say this problem is. We need more money now!!!"
OOOOH, WOW!!!!
Make it stop MAKE IT STOP.
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