recent posts for dwf_admin

(2008 - marijuana potency) "Twenty-three Police Forces in England and Wales participated in the study [of cannabis potency]. In early 2008, they submitted 2,921 samples for analysis..." These are the conclusions:

"• The mean THC concentration (potency) of the sinsemilla samples was 16.2% (range = 4.1 to 46%). The median potency was 15.0%, close to values reported by others in the past few years.

"• The mean THC concentration (potency) of the traditional imported herbal cannabis samples was 8.4% (range = 0.3 to 22%); median = 9.0%. Only a very small number of samples were received and analysed.

"• The mean potency of cannabis resin was 5.9% (range = 1.3 to 27.8%). The median = 5.0% was typical of values reported by others over many years.

"• Cannabis resin had a mean CBD content of 3.5% (range = 0.1 to 7.3%), but the CBD content of herbal cannabis was less than 0.1% in nearly all cases."

(marijuana potency) "Data on the THC content of cannabis products in the USA have been collected by ElSohly et al. (1984, 2000) for many years as part of the University of Mississippi Potency Monitoring Project. Samples were submitted by law enforcement agencies and it is assumed that they are representative of the market ... Although there has been an increase in potency of herbal cannabis over the twenty-five-year period, cannabis resin (and hash oil) showed no long term trends since 1980 when data were first collected. Although potency of sinsemilla showed clear upward trend in the final three years of the study, no such trend was obvious when the longer period of 1980-1995 is examined, particularly in view of the wide variations in potency that occurred from year to year (ElSohly et al., 2000). The THC content of herbal cannabis increased from around 1% before 1980 to around 4% in 1997. This increase, when seen in the European context, is deceptive. Before 1980, all herbal cannabis THC levels in the ElSohly study were less than 2.4%. By contrast, ... comparable levels at the time in the United Kingdom were twice as great. In other words, it must be assumed that the quality of herbal cannabis consumed in the USA more than twenty years ago was unusually poor, but that in recent years it has risen to levels typical of Europe. So even the modest increase found by ElSohly et al. (2000) may be less significant than it seems."

(official forms of cannabis) According to a form used to submit cannabis samples to the University of Mississippi for potency analysis "in accordance with the terms of the Domestic Cannabis Eradication and Suppression Program grant agreement with the Drug Enforcement Administration," cannabis plants are defined as:

"Cultivated Sinsemilla: Female cannabis plant which has not been pollinated. May grow from cutting or from seed. May contain some seed (if un-pollinated the seed will be sterile). Common illicit indoor grow technique.

"Cultivated Non Sinsemilla: Male or Female cannabis plant commonly grown for illicit drug use.

"Cultivated Ditchweed: Male or Female cannabis plant which grows wild in many states that has in some way been tended by man. Examples of tending are: weeding, watering, topping, fertilizing, harvesting.

"Ditchweed: Unattended, wild male or female cannabis that is native to many states.

"Cannabis Bud: Flowering top of a female cannabis plant. The Bud may contain seed. Most valuable portion of a cannabis plant to the illicit grower. Bud formation occurs late in plant development.

"Leaf: Cannabis leaf potency tends to correlate to position on the plant. The most potent part of the plant is the new leaves at the top of the plant. As you move downward on the plant potency decreases. The least potent leaves on the plant are the large leaves at the bottom of the plant.

"Mature Cannabis: Mature cannabis plants have a higher potency than immature plants. Determination of plant maturity should be made using all available contextual factors. For example, is the plant outdoors and it only June or July, if so, then the plant is likely immature. However, if the growing season is near an end, such as September or October, then the plant is probably mature. Note male cannabis plants are mature as early as August when grown outdoors. It is more difficult to generalize regarding maturity of indoor grows. “Spike” cannabis plants can mature in as little as 6-8 weeks whereas an indoor grow with plants 3-4 feet in height may take 60-120 days to mature.

"Already Harvested: Cannabis plant material recently dried or packaged. May be either bud or leaf.

"Average Plant Canopy Diameter: Record the diameter of a typical mature cannabis plant at its broadest point through the center. Diameter data can be used to predict usable yield with good accuracy."

(THC and the cannabis plant) "The secretion of THC is most abundant in the flowering heads and surrounding leaves. The amount of resin secreted is influenced by environmental conditions during growth (light, temperature and humidity), sex of the plant, and time of harvest. The THC content varies between parts of the plant: from 10-12 % in flowers, 1-2 % in leaves, 0.1-0.3 % in stalks, to less than 0.03 % in the roots."

(1998 - NIDA cannabis cigarettes per acre and by strength) "Under the current contract with the University of Mississippi for any given year NIDA [National Institute on Drug Abuse] has the option to grow either 1.5 or 6.5 acres of cannabis, or to not grow any at all, depending on research demand. Generally, 1.5 acres are grown in alternate years. The number of cannabis cigarettes produced from 1.5 acres is about 50,000-60,000, although it can be higher. Cigarettes are produced in three potencies: strength 1 - 3-4 %; strength 2 - 1.8-2.2 %; and strength 3 - placebo, as close to 0% as possible. During the past three years, the following quantities have been shipped: 1994 - 24,000 cigarettes; 1995 - 23, 100 - cigarettes; and 1996 17,700 cigarettes. Virtually all of the cigarettes shipped in the last three years have been for single patient INDs. As of March 1997 there were 278, 100 cigarettes in stock. The cigarettes are maintained in frozen storage and have a useful life of approximately five years."

(legal medicinal cannabis patients) "NIDA also supplies cannabis to seven patients under single patient so-called "compassionate use" Investigational New Drug Applications (IND). In 1978, as part of a lawsuit settlement by the Department of Health and Human Services, NIDA began supplying cannabis to patients whose physicians applied for and received such an USID from the FDA. In 1992, the Secretary terminated this practice, but decided that NIDA should continue to supply those patients who were receiving cannabis at the time."

(source of legal cannabis) "In 1968, the National Institute of Mental Health began funding a Drug Supply Program to provide researchers with compounds necessary to conduct biomedical research. Initially, the program focused on THC and other naturally occurring cannabinoids, and then gradually expanded to a wide range of compounds. ... Cannabis was among the first substances to be made available through the Drug Supply Program for use by scientists conducting both nonhuman research and human research under a variety of investigational new drug protocols. It was grown through a contract with the University of Mississippi. With its establishment in 1974, NIDA became the successor to NIMH as the administrator of the cannabis contract and the sole U.S. source for legal cannabis."

Please use the following links to access these Crime sub-chapters:

Data - "Crime - Data" data concerning crime ordered by data year and subject of the data in parentheses.

Law and policy - "Crime - Law and Policy" The Controlled Substances Act and information related to it.

Research - "Crime - Research" research studies concerning various aspects of drug related crime, with the subject of the research in italicized parentheses.

Adolescents - "Adolescents - Crime" data concerning adolescents and crime.

(cannabis and neuropathic pain) "We found that 25 mg herbal cannabis with 9.4% tetrahydrocannabinol, administered as a single smoked inhalation three times daily for five days, significantly reduced average pain intensity compared with a 0% tetrahydrocannabinol cannabis placebo in adult participants with chronic post-traumatic or postsurgical neuropathic pain. We found significant improvements in measures of sleep quality and anxiety. We have shown the feasibility of a single-dose delivery method for smoked cannabis, and that blinding participants to treatment allocation is possible using this method."

(origin of the CSA) "With increasing use of marijuana and other street drugs during the 1960s, notably by college and high school students, federal drug-control laws came under scrutiny. In July 1969, President Nixon asked Congress to enact legislation to combat rising levels of drug use. Hearings were held, different proposals were considered, and House and Senate conferees filed a conference report in October 1970. The report was quickly adopted by voice vote in both chambers and was signed into law as the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970. ... Included in the new law was the Controlled Substances Act."