The potency of cannabis has been a contentious issue for decades, with government officials and prohibitionists frequently warning of the dangers of “killer bud”. However, according to this article in High Times, these claims are largely unfounded. Government researchers didn’t begin measuring marijuana potency until the early 1970s, by which time prohibitionists claimed it averaged under 1% THC, but these early studies were limited to old, improperly stored Mexican weed that bore little resemblance to the marijuana available on the consumer market. Today, government officials continue to warn of the dangers of high-potency strains, but according to numerous studies, the most significant difference between strong and weak cannabis is that users of the former smoke far less per session than weak cannabis users. Furthermore, unlike booze, sleeping pills or even aspirin, cannabis is remarkably nontoxic. So why is the government going out of its way to scare parents? According to High Times, the Feds’ latest reefer rhetoric may sound alarming but is no reason to get excited.
