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The potency of marijuana has been on the rise for the past three decades and is now at an all-time high. Average potency, measured by the concentration of the psychoactive chemical THC, is currently around 10 percent. According to government data, the average THC content of marijuana has increased by more than 150 percent in the past 25 years, from less than 4 percent in 1983 to 10.1 percent in 2008.

According to Mahmoud ElSohly, director of the University of Mississippi's Potency Monitoring Project, of the thousands of marijuana samples that his labs test each year, many contain a THC content of over 30 percent. ElSohly predicts that average levels of THC concentration will continue to rise in the coming years before topping off at around 15 or 16 percent. Authorities are particularly worried about the increasing potency because high levels of THC have been shown to affect the brain much differently than lower levels. Users of higher potency marijuana are more likely to experience significant side effects such as dysphoria, paranoia, irritability, inability to concentrate, and insomnia.

(Sources: www.redorbit.com)

Labels: marijuana, pot, weed

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A recent report published by researchers at the University of British Columbia indicates that many young people in British Columbia use marijuana for "therapy" or "medicinal use" instead of for "recreation." Approximately one-third of young people interviewed for the study reported using marijuana to address health problems such as depression, anxiety, and sleeplessness.

Area physician Dr. Pam Allardyce commented that although this type of use is fairly widespread, many young people she sees are trying to move toward more conventional treatments: "It's not surprising at all [that they are] using it to self medicate. ... They come in in their 19 or 20's and they're trying to seek employment. ... They have met a girlfriend who's not accepting of their marijuana use or there's something socially that's caused them to have to deal with it."

(Source: www.ctvbc.ctv.ca)

Labels: health problems, teen drug abuse, pot, weed

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