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High-potency pot is causing psychiatric issues, including addiction
and memory problems.
New strains of the recreational drug have higher
levels of the active chemical and not enough of another compound that
keeps the drug safe. And as a new study this week documents, the
riskiest pot is coming from the black market—which could be an argument
for expanding legalization.
The new report,
published this week by Manchester Metropolitan University in the U.K.,
tested 50 samples of cannabis in the city of Manchester. The study was
conducted by Volteface, a London-based policy think tank seeking reform
for marijuana laws to improve safety of the drug by making it legal, and
thus limiting demand on the local black market. All of the samples had
high levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component of
the drug that produces the “high,” and inconsequential amounts
of cannabidiols (CBDs), the protective compound of the drug that
prevents marijuana from becoming unsafe.
Pot that is high in THC
carries a greater risk of psychiatric problems, including psychosis,
addiction and memory impairment. One study, for example, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry
evaluated cannabis use in 280 people and compared them to a control
group of 174 non-cannabis users. The study found that people who
experienced their first psychotic episode were more likely to have used a
higher THC potency form of the drug.
Amir
Englund, an expert in cannabinoid psychopharmacology at the Institute
of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London,
tells Newsweek that the low levels of CBDs exacerbate the
issues caused by high levels of THC. Additionally, frequent users often
become tolerant to cannabis and slowly need a stronger product to get as
high as they used to, he says.
“Because both THC and CBD are made
from the same material in the plant, more of one means less of the
other,” he says. Some recent research, he says, has shown that people
using strains of marijuana that are also high in CBD—not just THC—are
less likely to have mental health problems than those who opt for
strains that have low CBD but high THC content. Some experiments he's
conducted show that CBD can counter the negative effects of high doses
of THC in healthy volunteers.
Growers, he says, are
cross-breeding plants to favor THC production over CBD. But the decision
isn’t influenced only by the market’s demand. In many instances, it's
determined by the grower’s bottom line. “Some of the reasons why these
varieties are more popular include the fact that they are more
cost-effective to produce (more total drug-yield per plant) and more
popular among frequent users,” says Englund.
A number of other
factors also affect the potency of pot. According to Leafly, there will
always be some variation when multiple growers cultivate the same strain
because environment, growing technique and genetics all impact the
composition of the plants.
A report
published in 2015 by the Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment found the problem isn't only with illegal sales. Labeling on
regulated cannabis is often misleading, and the strain purchased could
have higher or lower levels of potency than the label leads a consumer
to believe.
“High THC, low CBD cannabis dominates the UK’s
illicit market as it has a rapid growth period up to maturity and can be
grown indoors,” the researchers write. “This enables those selling
cannabis to make the greatest profit and presents the lowest risk. While
popularity of this product is undoubtedly high, this may well be due to
the fact that no other product is easily available and consumers have
neither the access to nor the experience of any alternative.”
In
other words, pot purchasers should look beyond the name—as nice as Black
Beauty and Northern Lights may sound—and find out more about what
they're smoking.
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