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.'
Out of curiosity though, what type of underwear do you prefer? I have 5-1 odds that you're a tighty whitey guy.
But the one that he ran from was when I substituted cocaine for marijuana in his argument!
"Anyone who supports the criminalisation of marijuana cocaine is a socialist.
This guy is going on 16, maybe, and you are giving him a hard time...
He can't help it he hasn't yet grown up, he never has a point!
...I don't want to know!
This guy (cinFLA) is going on 16, maybe, and you are giving him a hard time...
He can't help it he hasn't yet grown up, he never has gotten the point!
Sorta reminds me of my dog, Spot. He goes out to pee, and sometimes starts walking, while still peeing. It is the same, with cinFla. He keeps on, when he oughta be standing still, and holding it!!!).
A 16 year old knows better than to go around talking about someone and then tell that person not to post to him.
Why do y'all try to hijack the threads with slurs and slander instead of staying on topic?
See #282
Looks like you came here and got us to the SBR.
What's the point? You can't make a valid argument to support your point of view. You have to resort to slogans and insults.
Do you support the prohibition of peanut butter? If not, why not? Peanut butter kills more kids than ecstasy.
...and you should know better than to try and decide how I (we) should live our lives. Your responsibility is to yourself, and to your family.
You obviously don't know anybetter, or do you just enjoy being a busybody troll...
You have no clues, about other folks and their lives, yet are constantly denigrating folks because they like to "get high".
You offer no help, just constant criticism.
I feel sorry for you. Go worry about something serious, rather than troll, so you can repeat the same old WOD, Jack-boot lickin',tirade. It means nothing. Nor do you, in this context!
ROTFLMAO!
What's the matter, dude? Do you have a different audience here?
Thanks for the compiment. I did not realize that I was so powerful, or controversial. Methinks it may have to do with the posts coming from your computer, more than mine!
I am concerned about this concentration on young pot smokers, it may backfire. It may be a legitimate concern, but it may not be the right thing to base an election on.
I remember that some pot smokers used to buy pot that was cut with other drugs when I was young, but that was a LONG TIME AGO. I am sure that could be problem now. Maybe drug dealers are no longer selling pure marijuana and they are trying to draw attention to that fact. To me that would be more of a reason to legalize it, to prevent drug dealers from having more control over youth.
I think President Bush has some bad advice here on pursuing this right before the election. If I were him I'd stick with doing away with IRS, getting a National Sales Tax or flat tax across the board on income and let this stuff alone until after the election. Bush may be trying to draw dems into firefight too. It seems a risky venture to me.
Constantly? Please provide even ONE!
Ok, I think I know the thread you're talking about...The great underwear debate...
Cindy and Wendy! Well, I suppose it's possible that there could have been another cinFLA on Newsmax posting the same nonsense with the same mistakes and ya'lls...but I doubt it.
I understand. You don't want to talk issues. You just want to demonize. Sad.
Have fun. You and Pageone got y'all bumped to the SBR. Good day!
I apologize for exposing your propaganda and ignorance.
Do you really think that 'anyone that supports the criminalization of marijuana and cocaine is a socialist?
The truth of my statement is self evident.
Only in a socialist state does the government have that kind of power.
Those of you who support this are sending voters into the Kerry camp. Gore would have won the election if the Libertarians who voted for Bush would have voted for Gore.
But, that's probably what you want...
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