By Bruce Stanfield @ Adobe Stock
In The Wall Street Journal, Marc Siegel explains that the THC levels that would be legalized by Florida’s Amendment 3 are far beyond what the folks at Woodstock would recognize. He writes:
Recreational marijuana, already legal in 24 states and the District of Columbia, is on the ballot this week in Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota. With 70% of Americans now favoring legalization, it seems to be only a matter of time before marijuana is legal nationwide. But “recreational” is a misleading term to describe the drug, which is more dangerous than in the past.
The chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s psychological effects is tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. Chemists have acquired the ability to hyperconcentrate the compound and enhance its effects, leading to more-potent strains of cannabis. As the THC content of a product increases, so does the risk that it will impair functioning and cause long-term harm to users.
Today’s marijuana products are loaded with THC, which new research suggests is responsible for spikes in anxiety, depression and psychosis. But many of the states where marijuana is legal have very limited THC-concentration restrictions. More pregnant women are taking the drug to ease the symptoms of morning sickness, only to discover that the souped-up product leads to preterm births, low-birth-weight infants and developmental delay.
Other countries are aware of these risks. Switzerland limits the THC content in cannabis products to less than 1%. In France, the limit is 0.3%. Compare this with Florida’s Amendment 3, which would decriminalize recreational marijuana. Florida’s legislators have debated how high the THC concentration of marijuana should be—one proposal allowed for products to contain up to 60% THC content. This is a dangerous amount and a far cry from the 1% to 3% content of so-called Woodstock Weed from the 1960s and ’70s.
The potential collateral damage is enormous. We will see more car accidents, injuries and poisonings, as well as emergency-room trips caused by psychosis, suicidal ideation and uncontrollable-vomiting disorders. States where pot has long been legal, such as Colorado, California and Nevada, have already seen spikes in cannabis-induced ER visits.
Read more here.
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