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POSTED IN: DRUGS

Marijuana potency increased in 2007, study says June 12, 2008 00:01AM

The Associated Press


Marijuana potency increased last year to the highest level in more than 30 years, posing greater health risks to people who may view the drug as harmless, according to a report released Thursday by the White House.

The latest analysis from the University of Mississippis Potency Monitoring Project tracked the average amount of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, in samples seized by law enforcement agencies from 1975 through 2007. It found that the average amount of THC reached 9.6 percent in 2007, compared with 8.75 percent the previous year.

The 9.6 percent level represents more than a doubling of marijuana potency since 1983, when it averaged just under 4 percent.

"Todays report makes it more important than ever that we get past outdated, anachronistic views of marijuana," said John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. He cited baby boomer parents who might have misguided notions that the drug contains the weaker potency levels of the 1970s.

"Marijuana potency has grown steeply over the past decade, with serious implications in particular for young people," Walters said. He cited the risk of psychological, cognitive and respiratory problems, and the potential for users to become dependent on drugs such as cocaine and heroin.

The White House office attributed the increases in marijuana potency to sophisticated growing techniques that drug traffickers are using at sites in the United States and Canada.

A report from the office last month found that a teenager who has been depressed in the past year was more than twice as likely to have used marijuana than teenagers who have not reported being depressed -- 25 percent compared with 12 percent. The study said marijuana use increased the risk of developing mental disorders by 40 percent.

"The increases in marijuana potency are of concern since they increase the likelihood of acute toxicity, including mental impairment," said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which funded the University of Mississippi study.

"Particularly worrisome is the possibility that the more potent THC might be more effective at triggering the changes in the brain that can lead to addiction," Volkow said.

The project analyzed data on 62,797 cannabis samples, 1,302 hashish samples, and 468 hash oil samples obtained primarily from seizures by law enforcement agencies in 48 states since 1975.


2008 06 13 14:30:38

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POSTED IN: RANDOM

Brain to benefit from ?smart drugs?

Clive Cookson, Science Editor Published: May 22 2008 02:04 | Last updated: May 22 2008 02:04


Society must prepare for a wave of ?smart drugs? that improve brain performance, senior medical scientists tell the government on Thursday.

Cognition enhancers ? a spin-off from pharmaceutical research into Alzheimer?s and other neurological diseases ? can potentially boost activities such as memory, attention or speed of thought in healthy people, says a report by the Academy of Medical Sciences on the brain, addiction and drugs.

The academy urges the government and regulators to monitor closely the use of cognition enhancers in non-medical contexts, such as helping students to pass exams or employees to improve their performance at work. No one should be compelled to take such drugs as a condition of employment, it says.

Sir Gabriel Horn, of Cambridge University, the report?s senior author, said: ?We see similarities in the future use of cognition enhancers with the current use of performance enhancing drugs in sport. It is likely that the use of cognition enhancers will increase, so an assessment of the social and economic impacts now will allow government and others to consider ?localised? regulation around use in schools, universities and the workplace.?

The drugs available produce only a modest cognitive enhancement, for example in Alzheimer?s patients, and evidence for their benefits in healthy users is slim. ?But the availability of drugs bought via the internet already encourages the curious and the hopeful to try their luck,? says the report.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
2008 05 23 00:19:35

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POSTED IN: DRUGS

Row looming over cannabis grading

bbc 2008/05/07 07:48:34 GMT


Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is expected to reclassify cannabis as a Class B drug - against the advice of officials.

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs is understood to have argued that cannabis remains Class C, to which it was downgraded under Tony Blair.

But Gordon Brown is thought to be keen to reclassify to "B" as he is worried about the "more lethal" use of skunk - a stronger form of the drug.

The Tories want cannabis to be Class B. Lib Dems want ministers to heed advice.

Penalty clause

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) publishes its report later, as Ms Smith is set to make a statement to MPs on the governments stance.

The document has been compiled by judges, doctors, police and drug counsellors who are believed to have concluded that cannabis should remain Class C.

The advisory council will be saying, as they did in their previous report, that rather than base policy on speculation or anxiety, it needs to be based on evidence
Martin Barnes Drugscope

Among its 20 recommendations, it calls for stricter penalties for dealing the drug in schools, mental health hospitals and prisons.

It also says ministers should set up a "concerted" public health campaign to reduce the use of cannabis among young people.

However, the council says the drug causes less harm than those in Class B, such as amphetamines and barbiturates.

It argues that it should remain in Class C, where the maximum penalty for possession is two years, rather than five.

But, during the inquiry, "a minority" of council members disagreed, saying they were "very concerned" about the mental health risks of the widespread availability of more potent forms of the drug.

No deterrent

The ACMD did not look at the message conveyed to the public or the impact on policing, which it is not legally obliged to do.

BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said this would give the home secretary "grounds to disregard the panels advice - and restore cannabis to Class B".

But Martin Barnes, from the charity Drugscope, says Mr Brown should listen to the experts. "The advisory council will be saying, as they did in their previous report, that rather than base policy on speculation or anxiety, it needs to be based on evidence," he said. Deborah Cameron, of the drug and alcohol treatment charity Addaction, said education was needed, adding that changing the classification of cannabis would do little to deter people from smoking it. Scientific advise "The young people that we see dont think about the classification of cannabis before they smoke weed," she said. "They dont understand the system and it doesnt deter them." Last month, Mr Brown said he wanted to "send a message" to young people that using cannabis was "unacceptable". Cannabis was downgraded to Class C - which includes substances such as anabolic steroids - from Class B, in 2004. It means possession is treated largely as a non-arrestable offence.

The Conservatives have called for cannabis to be returned to Class B, while the Liberal Democrats have urged the government to be more open about the scientific advise it receives.

Home Office research published in February suggested skunk dominates the UK market - comprising 70% to 80% of samples seized by police.


2008 05 07 11:00:56

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POSTED IN: DRUGS

Snort coke, shaft the environment, say boffins

By Barbara Axt


Cocaine: Now with even more added guilt

Published Sunday 30th March 2008 08:02 GMT Sign up to the Reg Jobs by Email today

Snorting cocaine is an environmental crime whatever your views on drug use, scientists declared last week.

A panel of scientists meeting at the Natural History Museum in London last week detailed how the production of the drug and its trafficking affect biodiversity and contribute to climate change.

The production of a gram of cocaine means the destruction of four square metres of Colombian forest, they said, raising the question of which supermodels, popstars and city types should be lined up with hummer drivers and big game hunters in the environmental most-wanted stakes.

Colombia is one of the most biodiverse countries in the planet, and also the biggest cocaine producer. Bad combination.

Cocaine production is a threat to environment is all its stages, said Liliana Davalos, lecturer in Molecular Ecology at the Open University, UK. The first step of the cycle is the destruction of forest to plant coca. Every year, 100 thousand hectares of Colombian forest is destroyed for this end. The plantations also use tons of herbicides that are forbidden in many other countries. Since the UK is one of the world?s largest consumption markets for cocaine, it makes concerns about organic tomatoes and pesticides seem futile.

Then, the coca leaves must be soaked in solvents to release their psychotropic substances. Every year, 20 million litres of acetone, 13 million litres of gasoline and 81 thousand litres of sulphuric acid are used in this process and then thrown away, untreated, in rivers and water streams.

Transporting the product demands the clearing of more forests for landing strips, preferably in national parks and conservation areas. "These areas belong to the Government, so no owner can be held liable for the illegal activities," Davalos points out.

Finally, the Colombian governments efforts to eradicate the plantations only serve to exacerbate the situation. They use planes to spray herbicides over coca plantations, with predictably gruesome consequences for insects, amphibians and other plants in the area. Growers then move to other areas, clear the native vegetation and start all over again.

For those who are convinced of the huge impact of their stimulant consumption and want to change for a milder and more ethical one, massive doses of caffeine are the way to go.

Coffee from shade trees cultivation farms, where the bushes are grown in the shadow of native taller trees, is a much more eco-friendly option. "Biodiversity in these plantations is almost as high as in primary forests," said botanist Sandy Knapp from the Natural History Museum.

So, the geek classic stimulant is eco-friendly, while the yuppie classic is a no no.


2008 04 02 23:33:35

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