The marijuana potency myth is like a zombie in a George Romero film - it. just. won’t. die!

Marijuana more potent than it used to be | IndyStar.com | The Indianapolis Star
Think marijuana is the drug of yesterday? Think again. According to a recent article in Good Housekeeping magazine, not only does the intoxicating weed remain a drug of choice, it’s a lot stronger than it used to be. In 1970, the average level of THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) was less than 1 percent. By 2006, it had risen to 7 percent. In addition, research shows that one joint can harm airways as much as five cigarettes. The reason: Marijuana cigarettes don’t have filters and the smoke is inhaled deeply.

Well, Good Housekeeping said so, so it must be true!

At least they do us the courtesy of only claiming a greater than 7x increase, instead of the “25-fold increase” Barbara Kay likes to throw around.

The lowest THC average in a meta-analysis of hundreds of studies of marijuana seizures in America and abroad, we find the lowest averages to be 2% and the highest averages to be 4% for marijuana seized from 1975-1983.  Marijuana with 1% THC is otherwise known as “industrial hemp”, and smoking that will give you more headache than high.

THC levels have risen, to averages of 5% to 8½%.  Some of the highest quality (and rarest) marijuana seized has THC levels of 33%.  (Of course, these pale in comparison to synthetic THC in Marinol, which is 100% pure, but for some reason, considered a safe medicine.)

But with THC, an increase in potency is not an increase in harm.  It is non-toxic, no matter how pure it is.  You do not get any less or more high depending on potency, you just need more or less cannabis to get high.

Which leads to the point about “one joint = five cigarettes” (at least this time it’s not “twenty”) — if the smoking is so harmful, wouldn’t you want someone to have a joint with the 8% THC rather than the 2% THC?  They’re going to only have to take a couple of puffs on the 8% joint, but they’ll probably have to finish the entire 2% joint for the same effect.  Don’t you want less smoking?

But even that theory is bunk - one joint doesn’t equal any number of cigarettes, and in fact, may have helpful anti-tumoral properties.  Or you could just take the commonsense approach and consider the hundreds of nasty chemicals pumped into the highly addictive legal cigarettes vs. the non-addictive dried flowers of an organic herb and note the millions who have died from lung cancer and cigarettes vs. the zero that have died from lung cancer and cannabis.

A devoted Stash listener forwarded me a response he received after contacting his congressman, Brad Ellsworth, of Indiana’s 8th District. What impresses me most is Ellsworth’s ability to fit so much reefer madness into so few sentences.

Thank you for contacting me to share your views on marijuana. I appreciate your comments, and I welcome this opportunity to share my thoughts.

According to a 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), marijuana remains the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States¹. While marijuana use is generally unhealthy² and has negative social repercussions³, it also serves as a gateway drug to more dangerous substance abuse⁴. For these reasons, I remain concerned by the prevalence of drug abuse⁵ in our culture and the harmful consequences that are the result of this behavior.

As a career law enforcement officer, I saw firsthand the devastating effects that illicit drug use can have on both individuals and communities⁶. While a member of the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office, I initiated the Drug Abuse Resistance Effort (DARE)⁷ program to make children aware of the dangers posed by drug use. I made fighting drugs a top priority within the department and I will continue to do so in the United States Congress. Currently, no legislation regarding the legalization of non-medicinal marijuana has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives⁸. If such legislation is introduced, I will not support it.

Thanks again for taking the time to share your views with me. I need your input to make the best decisions possible, so please stay in touch!

Well, then, Congressman, here is some input:

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Download the NORML Daily Audio Stash for 2008-05-06

It’s Tuesday, May 6th and it’s 4:20 somewhere in the world. I’m your host, “Radical” Russ Belville.

We here at NORML would like to remind you to get involved in the cannabis civil rights movement and join us here at NORML – you can learn everything you need to know at NORML.org. Make a donation, write a letter, attend a rally, march for your rights – it all starts with you. Call your Congress at 202-224-3121 – they’ll ask your zip code and put you in touch with your elected officials. Tell them to support HR5842 and HR5843 to end DEA raids in medical marijuana states and legalize personal possession of pot. It still is a government of We the People, but you have to step up and do your part.

Tuesday is Government at Work day on the podcast, and coming up after the news, we’re going to speak with D. Paul Stanford, executive director of The Hemp & Cannabis Foundation’s chain of medical marijuana clinics in six Western states. Paul has some excellent news about the defeat of a plan to repeal Oregon’s highly-successful self-funded medical marijuana program and the launch of the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act for 2010.

After that Cannabis Karri brings us the secret agent of the counterculture, the Undercover Hippy. His new album, “They Feed on Greed” features an instant cannabis classic called “Too Stoned” that we’re playing for you today.

We’ll wrap up today with another look at the Global Marijuana March this last weekend with two activists straight from the heartland. We’ve got James Getman from Iowa NORML and Steven Eisenhauer from SW Indiana NORML here to give us a review of their events and their take on the chances for cannabis reform in the Midwest.

So sit back and relax with your favorite strain – this is the Daily Audio Stash.