Yet another reason why reefer should be legalized......

From AP:

WASHINGTON - 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 Mississippi's 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.


Gee, maybe if the government legalized it, and regulated it, they could control the potency of the product. It's exactly like during prohibition times. Who controlled the liquor supply when the government outlawed it????

No one has ever died directly from marijuana use. According to the government's own figures, 435,000 Americans die each year from tobacco use. 85,000 die directly from alcohol use. 32,000 die from adverse reactions to prescription drugs. 7,000 die from NSAIDS and aspirin. But NOT ONE American dies directly from marijuana use. To be fair, marijuana use is implicated as a contributing factor is somewhere between 200 and 3o0 deaths a year.

So, I want to know, when is MY government going to quit wasting MY tax dollars on a losing battle trying to wipe out a drug that, by all accounts, is pretty fucking benign???? A drug about which President Nixon's Commission on Marijuana and Drug Use had the following to say in 1972:

"Neither the marijuana user nor the drug itself can be said to constitute a danger to public safety. Therefore, the Commission recommends ... [the] possession of marijuana for personal use no longer be an offense, [and that the] casual distribution of small amounts of marijuana for no remuneration, or insignificant remuneration no longer be an offense."

Now, if you want to read something really scary about drug abuse, check out the next post.