Marijuana potency

For definitive references on the cultivation and chemistry of marijuana, see MARIJUANA GROWERS GUIDE, And/Or Press (1978) and MARIJUANA POTENCY, And/Or Press (1977). 

Wu TC, Tashkin DP, Rose JE, Djahed B. (1988). Influence of marijuana potency and amount of cigarette consumed on marijuana smoking pattern. J Psychoactive Drugs. 20(1) 43-46. 

In the early 1970s, we first began to see fairly large amounts of "hash oil, a product distilled from marijuana leaves. Processes are detailed in Starks Marijuana Potency from DEA papers. Here the rules of color are reversed the darker the color, usually the less refined, the more harsh and the less potent the oil is. 

From a potency standpoint, the results were less than exciting. At low doses, performance scores did decline slightly and some subjects reported mild symptoms suggestive of marijuana effects. However, a substantial alteration in both cognitive performance and mood occurred only in one of the two individuals who received the highest dose (60 mcg/kg). This volunteer clearly showed a drop in performance scores, and developed clear-cut signs and symptoms of a marijuana high. 

EA 2233 did not seem to have sufficient potency to be of military interest, since an oral dose of 60mcg/kg caused a maximum decline of only 40% (at most) in number facility performance. Hollister later published a study which showed that the oral effects of ordinary THC were only about one-third that of THC smoked as marijuana.. This... 

THE BRAIN S OWN MARIJUANA-LIKE NEUROTRANSMITTER The very high potency and structure of the cannabinoids contained within the marijuana plant enable them to cross the blood—brain barrier and bind to a receptor for the brain s very own endogenous cannabinoid neurotransmitter system. If this were not true, then the marijuana plant would be popular only for its use in making rope, paper, and cloth. The two currently identified neurotransmitters compounds (and there are probably more) in this system are anandamide, from the Sanskrit word amnia () meaning bliss, and 2-AG (2-arachidonoyl-glycerol). Unlike the other neurotransmitters that I ve discussed, these two endocannabinoids are not stored in synaptic vesicles. 

Bonsor, Kevin. How Marijuana Works Potency. Marshall Brain s How Stuff Works, . (April 7, 2002). 

Aside from this controversy, recent research shows that the THC content of marijuana ranges from 0.5 to 5.0 percent, and the THC in hashish ranges from 2 to 20 percent. Hashish oil may contain between 15 to 50 percent THC, and sinsemilla varieties may have a THC content of up to 20 percent. Many studies indicate that marijuana of less than 0.5 percent potency has basically no psycho activity. However, every individual s reaction to the psychoactive effects of THC is different. Some reports indicate that what marijuana users may term bad trips have been recorded with marijuana that ranges from quite low (0.7 percent THC content) to quite high (7.5 percent THC content). 

Before discussing the short-term and long-term physical effects of marijuana, we need to say a word about dose. Any substance, whether a drug or even water, can benefit or harm a person, depending on its quantity and potency. High doses of a substance can produce very different effects from those of low doses. Water is necessary for human life, but drink extreme... 

Marijuana was first mentioned as a medicine in an American medical text in 1843 and in 1854 was listed in the U.S. Dispensatory. The latter year also marked the first written description by Bayard Taylor in The Atlantic Monthly of cannabis intoxication. In the 1850s, recommended medical uses for marijuana included the treatment of gout, rheumatism, tetanus, opiate and alcohol withdrawal, loss of appetite, dysmenorrhea, convulsions, depression, insanity, and asthma. Although its suggested uses were widespread, marijuana never actually achieved popular use in the medical community. The reasons for this include variations in potency of commercial preparations, variability in patients responses, slow onset of oral action, and lack of solubility preventing administration by injection. However, the drug was included in many patent medicine preparations and was officially recognized as a medicine in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia until 1937. In 1937 there were 28 pharmaceuticals that contained cannabis. 

Meanwhile, the potency of home-grown Cannabis products quickly increased. Word spread rapidly that some of the marijuana from Hawaii and California was superb. By 1977, many people were paying up to 250 an ounce for "Hawaiian, which was about as expensive as Cannabis ever got. 

With the "Isomerizer, the process is much easier. More than 200,000 Isomerizers are said to have been sold with the expectation that the device will increase potency of weak marijuana up to six times. After five or sue years on the market, however, the isomerizing process hasn t really become popular. The main reasons appear to be because it s still too much trouble and most people don t enjoy the taste of the "Iso-hash or oil which result since there is generally a lingering odor from bicarbonate of soda that is used to neutralize the sulfuric acid. Some complain that Iso-hash doesn t get them all that high. Robert Connell Clarke s Marijuana Botany provides a fuller discussion. 

In India and other areas with long marijuana experience, Cannabis is often made into something like a milkshake (bhang) or a kind of candy (most commonly known as majoun). These methods give effects, but experience has shown that if marijuana is to be ingested, its potency can be increased considerably by cooking it first in oil at low temperatures for about fifteen minutes. 

The potency of cannabis varies widely. Most of the marijuana grown in the United States has a lower THC content than that imported from overseas. The THC potency of marijuana smoked in the United States typically is 5%-6% (10%-15% for sinsemilla, a seedless variety of marijuana). Values for hashish and hash oil are higher, with hash oil containing up to 60% THC. 

Mehmedic, Z., Arafat, R., Yi, B., Banahan, B. F. (2000). Potency-trends of delta(9)-THC and other cannabinoids in confiscated marijuana from 1980-1997. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 45, 24-30. 

Bhang does not always refer to the plant itself but rather to a mild liquid refreshment made with its leaves, and somewhat similar in potency to the marijuana used in America. 

Perez-Reyes M, Di Guiseppi S, Davis KH, Schindler VH, Cook CE (1982) Comparison of effects of marijuana cigarettes of three different potencies. Clin Pharmacol Ther 31 617-624... 

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