In June, ONDCP and the
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) released
the latest analysis (.pdf)
from the University of Mississippi's Potency Monitoring Project, which
revealed that levels of THC - the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana
-
have reached the highest-ever amounts since scientific analysis of
the drug began in the late 1970s. According to the latest data on
marijuana samples analyzed to date, the average amount of THC in seized
samples has reached a new high of 9.6 percent. This compares to an
average of just under 4 percent reported in 1983 and represents more
than a doubling in the potency of the drug since that time.
Today, the New York Times
published a behind-the-scenes interview with Dr. Mahmoud A. Elsohly, the lead marijuana researcher at the University of Mississippi. Dr. Elsohly is just one of the many scientists the Federal Government relies on to shape national drug policy.
Q. WHAT EXACTLY DOES THE MARIJUANA PROJECT DO?
A. Though cannabis had been used by man
for thousands of years, it wasn’t until 1964 that the actual chemical
structure of the active ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol — THC — was
determined. That stimulated new research on the plant.
At this laboratory, which began in 1968, we often investigate
marijuana’s chemistry. We also have a farm where we grow cannabis for
federally approved researchers. Our material is employed in clinical
studies around the country, to see if the active ingredient in this
plant is useful for pain, nausea, glaucoma, for AIDS patients and so on. For these tests, researchers need standardized material for cigarettes
or THC pills. We grow the cannabis as contractors for the National
Institute on Drug Abuse — NIDA. And the only researchers who can get
our material are those with special permits. We have visitors at the
building now and then who ask, “Oh, do you give samples?” We say, “No!”
Q. WHY BOTHER CULTIVATING YOUR OWN MARIJUANA WHEN LAW ENFORCEMENT ORGANIZATIONS SEIZE BRICKS OF IT EVERY DAY?
A. The most obvious reason is that with
confiscated marijuana, you don’t really know what you have. When
researchers are performing clinical tests, they must have standardized
material that will be the same every time. And it must be safe. You
certainly wouldn’t want to give a sick person something sprayed with
pesticide or angel dust, substances we’ve detected in some illicit marijuana.
When this project first started in the late 1960s, people thought,
“Oh, we’ll get materials for testing after a big bust happens.” So the
first batch was acquired that way. They made an extract out of the
seized material, and it turned out to be contaminated with tung oil.
That brought home the point: if you’re going to do clinical trials on
humans, you’d better know what you’re using and where it came from.
Hence, our farm.
Read the rest
here.