Tag: Marijuana

Study Finds Marijuana “Dosing” Unpredictable

We have written repeatedly how “medical” marijuana is difficult to dose accurately. Because marijuana’s potency varies from plant to plant–depending on a host of factors, including growing conditions–there is no guarantee two samples of marijuana will contain identical levels of active ingredients.

This is simply one reason we feel “medical” marijuana is really a misnomer.

Earlier this year the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study analyzing “dose accuracy of labels from edible medical cannabis products dispensed in 3 U.S. cities.”

Researchers analyzed 75 food products infused with marijuana, checking the levels of THC and cannabidiol in each item.

Of the marijuana edibles they tested, only 17% were accurately labeled. 23% were under-labeled, meaning there was more drug content in the edible than indicated on the label; 60% were over-labeled, meaning there was less marijuana in the product than indicated on the label.

The fact that edible marijuana often is not properly labeled is significant. Many cases of marijuana poisoning and marijuana overdose cited in the news have been the result of people eating marijuana-infused food without realizing just how much marijuana the food contained. If marijuana products are not properly labeled, how can people possibly know how much of the drug they are ingesting?

Of course, inaccurate labeling would not be a problem if marijuana were as harmless as many of its supporters claim, but it isn’t. Researchers increasingly link marijuana use to a variety of negative side-effects ranging from paranoia and reduction in IQ to even stroke, heart attack, and latent schizophrenia.

Uniformity in dosing is a hallmark of modern medicine. Imagine opening a bottle of Tylenol only to find some tablets contained more acetaminophen than others. It would be unthinkable, and yet that’s what we seem to find with “medical” marijuana.

As we keep saying, inconsistency in dosing is just one more reason “medical” marijuana is a misnomer.

You can read the JAMA article here.

Photo Credit: “Cannabis Plant” by Cannabis Training University – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

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Unpacking the Polling On “Medical” Marijuana in Arkansas

Earlier this month Talk Business published the results of a poll conducted in cooperation with Impact Management and Hendrix College. The poll purports to show 84% of Arkansas voters support “medical” marijuana prescribed by a physician.

Many people are touting these poll results as proof Arkansans support legalization of “medical” marijuana. But before we jump to conclusions, let’s look at the key question in the poll regarding marijuana:

“Do you agree or disagree that adults should be allowed to legally use marijuana for medical purposes if a physician prescribes it?”

According to Talk Business, 84% of people surveyed answered “agree.” There is a problem, however: The kind of marijuana proposal described by this poll question is nothing like any of the proposals being offered to Arkansans right now. In fact, it’s nothing like any “medical” marijuana law we know of in the nation.

Here is what we mean. (more…)

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In CO, Marijuana Use by Kids 58% Above Average

An article in Citizen magazine’s August issue reveals some disturbing facts about marijuana use in the U.S.:

• Some of today’s products laced with marijuana concentrates have 400 percent greater potency than marijuana joints sold 30 years ago.
• Marijuana concentrate is available in forms designed to appeal to children, including lollipops, gummies, cherry drops, brownies, chocolates, cookies, fruit punches, and sodas.
• In Colorado, marijuana use by kids between the ages of 12 and 17 is now 58 percent higher than the national average.
• The rate of use among college-age adults in Colorado is 54 percent above the national average.
• Drug-related suspensions from Colorado schools jumped 34 percent from the 2005-2009 period to the 2010-2014 period, while alcohol-related suspensions stayed flat.

We have written before about how children and adults mistake marijuana edibles for traditional candy.

Emergency rooms are seeing more cases of children accidentally ingesting marijuana, and marijuana is increasingly linked with schizophrenia and other mental problems.

Rod Thomson writes for Citizen,

A top concern for many people who are now part of the resistance is the fact that kids under the age of 21—the minimum age for purchasing marijuana that was written into the law—are nonetheless consuming it at stunning levels, according to the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (RMHIDTA), an offshoot of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which coordinates efforts between federal, state and local drug-enforcement agencies.

Moreover, today’s marijuana includes concentrated products, like cannabis butter or oil, which are made by extracting the psychoactive ingredient of the plant for a very powerful effect.

You can read more here.

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