Own your ow legal marijuana business | Your guide to making money in the multi-billion dollar marijuana industry |
Major Studies of Drugs and Drug Policy | ||||
Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs | ||||
Volume I - General Orientation |
|
Chapter 5 - Cannabis: From Plant to JointD9THC Concentrations
The D9THC
content of marijuana generally varies in natural growing conditions from 0.5 to
4%.[1][28] D9THC
content serves first as a basis for distinguishing the drug type of plant from
the fibre type: permitted concentrations vary by country - in Canada, as in
France, it is 0.3% for the fibre type. For more than a decade now, techniques
for selecting powerful strains and cultivation (in greenhouses and
hydroponically) have made it possible to achieve D9THC
concentrations of 15% or more. D9THC
content is also used to distinguish between various cannabis products and thus
to determine their price: the content of sinsemilla, for example, generally
varies between 7% and 14% and is more expensive than "regular"
cannabis. The question of D9THC
content, its variability, how it is determined and its effects has raised
numerous issues. While all specialists agree that maximum active ingredient
concentrations have increased over the past 20 years, opinion is divided
on average concentrations in cannabis available on the market. Estimates vary
as to the preponderance and consequences of D9THC
concentrations. First, it should be emphasized that
studies show that concentrations are subject to extreme variability, for a
number of reasons. First, failing a control system at source, the D9THC
content of marijuana is estimated on the basis of police seizures. However,
only a portion of the drug seized is analyzed for THC content,[2][29] and analyses are not all equally reliable,
depending on how police or customs officials conducted the seizures and how the
products were preserved and transported to the lab. In addition, between a
seized product in clandestine lab or at a customs post and the product sold on
the street, a number of changes can be made: tobacco, herbs and other products
can be added to the gram of "pot" sold at a school which alter the
nature of the drug and thus the quantity of active ingredient. This is even
truer for hashish, as seen above in the example on processing in Morocco. Second, since cannabis is a
widespread illegal product, it is impossible to take a representative sample of
the drug available on the market at a given time for analysis. Thus it is
impossible to measure the difference between the D9THC
content of cannabis seized at the production or delivery site and that of
cannabis used by individuals. And third, the active ingredient concentration
varies with the geographical area of origin, climatic conditions and production
conditions. Likely circulating in the market at any given time is a significant
variety of cannabis products reflecting the diverse conditions in which they
were produced. It follows that two samples seized in Vancouver in the same week
could have very different concentrations, as would be the case for samples
seized the same week in Vancouver, Montreal and St. John's. Experts told the Committee that
cannabis in the Canadian market was 700% more powerful than the same drug in
the 1970s. Some suggested that the average D9THC
content of cannabis on the market is approximately 30%, compared to 3% to 4% in
the 1970s. The
cannabis used today is up to 500 percent higher in THC - that is a range
between five percent to 31 percent - than the cannabis most adults
remember from the 1960s and 1970s. [3][30] In its 1999 annual report, the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police estimated the average content of seizures at 6%.[4][31] In Quebec, the Montreal Police Department asserted
that the THC content of cannabis is now 25%. In a private meeting with
Committee members, RCMP narcotics experts in British Columbia emphasized that
it is impossible in the current state of
affairs to determine the average content of cannabis in the country or in a
given province, in particular as a result of the extreme variability of
seizures and methods of analysis. The officers who conduct the seizures do not always
pay attention to the manner in which they preserve the product, such that it
may lose its D9THC content: heat, light and
humidity affect the stability of cannabis. Lastly, the experts providing
cannabis for therapeutic purposes whom we met said they kept various grades of
cannabis, based in particular on D9THC
concentrations, and that, in certain cases, the products offered to patients
reached concentrations of 27%. The most exhaustive studies on
changes in D9THC levels in cannabis have been
conducted in Australia, the Netherlands, France and the United States. They
show, first, that more powerful products have appeared in the market beside the
traditional forms of cannabis: "skunk" (a variety originating in the
United States and the Netherlands), "super‑skunk" and
"pollen" (stamens of male plants). Canada has not lagged behind, with
BC Bud and Quebec Gold in particular. More specifically, the studies on D9THC
concentrations show similar trends:
A
number of factors probably explain the persistence of the belief that the THC
content of cannabis plants in Australia has increased 30 fold in the absence of
any supporting data. First, defenders of the claim often point to reports of
single samples with unusually high THC content tested by the police. At best,
such samples indicate the maximum THC content that has been achieved (assuming
that there were no errors in the test results) but they do not tell us what the
THC content is in the cannabis that is typically used by consumers. Second,
biases in the sampling of tested cannabis are amplified by the attention that
the print and electronic media give to unusually potent samples, creating the
false impression that cannabis with exceptionally high THC is the norm. Third,
uncontested repetition of these assertions in the media has established them as
“fats”; those who context these claims are asked to prove that they are false
rather than the (usually nameless) proponents being asked to provide evidence
that they are true. Fourth, an increase in average THC content seems to explain
an apparent increase in the number of cannabis users who experience problems as
a consequence of their use. [6][33]
(…)
in the midst of this furore over the remarkable increases in marijuana potency,
it is interesting that the potency of the commercial crop sold in the United
States has not varied enormously over the 30 years that potency has been
assessed by the analysis of THC content in criminally seized marijuana. In fact,
I recently looked at the report, which also comes from Mississippi, that the
mean THC content of some 40,000 seizures since 1974 is about
three percent. It has gone up in the last 10 years. In fact, in the
last 10 years I believe the arithmetic mean is more than four percent
while in the 10 years before that it was about 3.5 percent. [9][36] The following table summarizes some
of the data on a historical basis for certain countries.
In short, it appears that the main
change has been in maximum concentrations obtained as a result of sophisticated
cross‑breeding and cultivation methods, whereas average concentrations
have not significantly changed over the past 30 years.[10][37] What conclusion can be drawn from this? In the
minds of some, if cannabis could still be called a "soft drug" in the
1970s, that is no longer the case today. Some are not reluctant to say it is a
drug comparable to heroin or cocaine in its addictive power. As an example, the
Canadian Police Association has issued the following opinion on the risks
associated with cannabis. Generally,
marijuana and its derivative products are described [as soft drugs] to distance
the drug from the recognized harm associated with other illegal drugs. This has
been a successful yet dangerous approach and contributes to the misinformation,
misunderstanding and increasing tolerance associated with marijuana use.
Marijuana is a powerful drug with a variety of effects. (…) Marijuana use is associated
with poor work and school performance and learning problems for younger users.
Marijuana is internationally recognized as a gateway drug for other drug use.
Risk factors for marijuana dependence are similar to those of other forms of
drug abuse. [11][38] Others associated the increase in
demand for treatment for cannabis dependence with the increase in active
ingredient concentrations. As the National Post reported: The
potent BC Bud, which has a THC content as high as 25% compared to the 2%
typical in the 1970s, is also leading to health concerns in the United States.
Admissions for marijuana drug treatment in Washington State now exceed the rate
for treatment of alcoholism. Cannabis admissions in Cook County, Ill., have
risen by 400% in the last year. [12][39] Can it be said that cannabis has in
fact become a "hard" drug like cocaine and heroin? Apart from the
validity of the effects of cannabis itself as described by the Police
Association, and as will be discussed in detail in the Chapter 7, that
contention does not take into account the way in which the drug is used or the
lack of knowledge of the effects of D9THC
concentrations. Studies on the ways in which cannabis is used, considered in
Chapter 6, show that regular users appear to prefer medium to mild
cannabis, and that they adjust their use to the strength of the drug.
Interviews with individuals who use cannabis for medical purposes tend moreover
to confirm this perception. More significantly, for lack of any specific
studies on the question, the effects of higher D9THC
concentrations are simply not known. Lastly, as will be shown in the following
section, the bio‑availability of D9THC, that
is to say the proportion that is actually absorbed by the body following
combustion, is highly variable. As emphasized in the report of the World Health
Organization (WHO) on cannabis, considering all these factors, the actual
quantity of THC absorbed by the cannabis user is difficult to estimate.[13][40] Ultimately, while it can be a legitimate
preoccupation, the real issue of D9THC
content has more to do with our ability to control it and better know its
effects, rather than making all kinds of alarmist and unfounded statements
about its level. [1][28]
Huestis, M.A et al. (1992) "Characterization of the
absorption phase of marijuana smoking", Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 52: 31‑41. [2][29]
Note, for example, that, in the United States, there is no systematic method
for measuring THC. As emphasized in a comparative analysis of changes in price
of heroin, cocaine and marijuana, "Another problem is that the DEA does
not test marijuana for THC content, so there is no marijuana counterpart to the
pure grams reported for cocaine and heroin. The difficulty this causes is the
STRIDE data provide no basis for adjusting price changes for marijuana’s
quality." Abt Associates (2001) The
Price of Illicit Drugs: 1981 through the Second Quarter of 2000. Washington,
DC. Report prepared for the Office on National Drug Control Policy. [3][30]
Testimony of Mchael J. Boyd, Chair of the Drug Abuse Committee
and Deputy Chief of the Toronto Police Service, for the Canadian Association of
Chiefs of Police, Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs, Issue No. 14,
page 74. [4][31]
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (1999), Annual Report. [5][32]
Wayne, H. and S. Wendy (2000) "The THC content of
cannabis in Australia: evidence and implications", Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. 24: 503‑508. [6][33] Ibid., page 504. [7][34]
Roques, B. (1999) La
dangerosité des drogues. Paris: Odile Jacob. [8][35]
INSERM (2001) Cannabis: quels
effets sur le comportement et la santé? Paris: Les Éditions Inserm. [9][36]
Dr. John Morgan, Professor at the City University of New York
Medical School, testimony before the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs,
June 11, 2001, Issue No. 4, page 29. [10][37]
ElSohly, M.A., et al.
(2000) "Potency trends of delta9‑THC and other cannabinoids in confiscated
marijuana from 1980‑1997", Journal
of Forensic Sciences, 45(1): 24‑30. [11][38]
Sergeant Dale Orban, Regina Police, at the Senate Committee hearing
on May 28, 2001. [12][39]
National Post, May 17, 2002. [13][40]
World Health Organization (1997) Cannabis:
a health perspective and research agenda. Geneva: WHO, 1997. On line at: www.who.org. |