New Analysis Says Cannabis Breeders Should Grow for Safety As Well As Potency

yay drugs!

yay speciel k laced weed!

"throwing the psychotic/anti-psychotic balance strongly in favor of the psychotic."

And here's the root cause of why I stopped smoking the stuff years ago. I can't even be around the second-hand anymore because of it.

Barney's Green House tests the CBD and I can conclude that from the article above, only a misinterpretation of the available information could explain why the researchers think a skunk strain would have less CBD. This is entirely false, in fact older skunk strains on the Barney's site have even more CBD then new strain-hunter versions from around the globe.

Statistically (meaning we have actual large scale stats on this) Alcohol and Tobacco are the two most dangerous narcotics on the planet. The root cause of innumerable diseases and ailments. Since we've already proven that making these two things unavailable to the general populace doesn't work. Why are they still so dangerous? Is it the fact that they are available that makes them dangerous? Or is it the narcotics themselves?
The reality humans like getting out of their heads once in a while. In fact most life on this planet seeks out consciousness altering substances at various points during the year. Did you know butterflies seek out alcohol?
My point is mind altering substances are dangerous, through use, through misuse, or through second hand use. Spouting about the dangers of illegal drugs is a joke when we allow such dangerous chems on the street and actually advertise them.

i think everyone is gonnna get a big suprise when weed is finnally legalized and people can smoke at there own descretion. Weed messes with the chemicals in ur brain and i think to certain individuals it can change a person drastically if smoked enough. Ive smoked for around 2 years now and almose every day since sep 5. I "stopped" sunday but what does that mean? weed is addictive and although weed will bring GREAT things to this world there wil be one suprise that pushes the population away

If you think about it weed should be legal.
Cigarettes give you cancer and you die but weed just gets you high. Sure weed makes you do stupid things but so does alcohol.

Setting aside the issue of THC's or nicotine's effects on the body, what about the effects of breathing partially-burnt plant matter of any sort?

Has it not been well established that sucking large amounts of smoke into your lungs is a serious health risk?

As a side note, one illegal plant mentioned is already quite mainstream. Those little gray seeds on your muffin and some of those pretty flowers in the Park Seed catalog are indeed members of the species Papaver somniferum (Linnaean). The seeds are specifically exempted from drug law, but the plants themselves may not be legally grown in the US.

I live close to the BC border and started smoking at 16. I smoked very powerful marijuana for about five years until I has a schizophrenic episode where I heard torturing voices for about a month until I finally realized it was all in my head. I stopped smoking weed and it has never come back. Sure alcohol and cigarettes can kill you and alcohol can make you do strange and outrageous things but they won't give you a truely psychotic episode (unless your drinking way too much). I can't say I know what's best for everyone but I do believe weed messes with chemicals in your brain way beyond the effects of alcohol. Nevertheless I believe the stuff should be legal, but regulated. Just wanted to share my experience.

you spelt 'your' wrong...

I'm conducting extensive research into the possibility of an overdose. Been trying everyday for quite a few years, the search continues...

Johnroebuck3,

That is a horrible story about what happened to you on the effects of weed. But, That really doesnt mean people shouldnt smoke weed. Think about it. When you talk to kids about the affects of alcohol and smoking, you only reach about less than 1/3 of them. There still gonna drink and smoke to find out for them selves. It's nature! Best thing is for it to be legalized and have a safer product out there. Kinda like they do with smokes (Filter) with the cancer warning on it. The main thing is the Gov can make alot of money from this. End of story.

you all forget that smoking isnt the only way to get the effects. Vaporizers are a growing industry and theyre great. i personally own one. they conserve, theyre way healthier, and they make the take alot more clean and fresh. Trace if any plant matter involved.

"You're folks were right" = You are folks were right.
This isn't the first pointless article about cannabis to be on popsci.

>>Street cannabis -- aka "skunk"<<--This automatically throws this article out the window as far as legitimacy goes. There are thousands of different strains all with different genetic makeup. As far as CBD's being "bred out", no. Sativa dominant strains have very little CBD's while indica dominant ones contain much more. However, with both sides of the spectrum, the trichome glands begin producing mostly THC through its growth cycle, and once they reach their peak THC%, it begins to convert to CBD's. Most of the high-grade being sold is usually harvested at the peak of thc levels(clear/milky white trichomes) since this provides, for most people, the most enjoyable functional high that won't leave you burned out when the effects of the medicine wears off. But all a grower would have to do is let the buds mature until more of the trichomes are an amber color, indicating a higher CBD content.

Stronger doesn't mean more dangerous either. Newbs used to poor quality cannabis will think they can smoke just as much of the good stuff, and any experienced user will tell you, being too stoned is definately a mighty challenge for one's mind to ride out and overcome.

>>as long as marijuana remains a black market good, growers will strive for a more potent product over a safe one<<

As far as health effects, more potent IS safer. You're don't have to smoke copious amounts of it which of course is terrible on the lungs. As with any responsible person using a potent drug, legal or not, dosage is crucial.

"You're folks" ??? (photo caption)

You're supposed to know your "you're"s from your "your"s; we all did in days of yore. They're not so hard to get right - there are easy ways to remember their meanings. Is it really too hard to remember more than two spellings?

Ok, some required reading for anyone who wants to offer an opinion.

First, the short history of the marijuana laws at www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/whiteb1.htm This is funny and fascinating.

Licit and Illicit Drugs at www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/cu/cumenu.htm The best overall review of the subject ever written. If you haven’t read this book, then you simply don’t know the subject.

The Drug Hang-Up at www.druglibrary.org/special/king/dhu/dhumenu.htm This is another excellent history of the subject.

Major Studies of Drugs and Drug Policy at www.druglibrary.org/schaffer This is a collection of the full text of every major government commission report on the drug laws from around the world over the last 100 years. They all reached similar conclusions.

The drug laws were the product of ignorance and nonsense. In the US – which has driven worldwide drug prohibition for more than fifty years – the laws were the result of racism and lunacy so stupid that it just makes people laugh today.

Marijuana was originally outlawed for two major reasons. The first was because “All Mexicans are crazy and marijuana is what makes them crazy.” The second was the fear that heroin addiction would lead to the use of marijuana – exactly the opposite of the modern “gateway” idea.

Only two doctors testified before Congress for the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. The representative of the American Medical Association testified that marijuana was not a dangerous drug and there was no reason for the law. See the full transcripts of the hearings for the MTA at www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/taxact/taxact.htm

The only other doctor was Dr. James Munch. His sole claim to fame was that he had injected marijuana directly into the brains of 300 dogs, and two of them died. When they asked him what he concluded from this, he said he didn’t know. He also testified in court, under oath, that marijuana could make your fangs grow six inches long and drip with blood, and that it could turn you into a bat.

Dr. Munch was the only doctor in the US who thought that marijuana should be illegal so he was appointed US Official Expert on marijuana, where he served for 25 years.

That is just one example of the lunacy. There is far more than that in the history of these laws. Anyone who currently supports these laws simply hasn’t read the most basic research on the subject.

cupfighta said:

"I'm conducting extensive research into the possibility of an overdose. Been trying everyday for quite a few years, the search continues..."

According to which US Government authority you want to believe, the lethal dose of marijuana is either:

1) one-third your body weight or;
2) 1,500 pounds

consumed in 15 minutes. You can find the references at www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/mj_overdose.htm

There has never been a recorded human overdose death from marijuana. However, there are about 100 overdose deaths in the US every year from people who simply drank too much water.

yabbahabba is correct. The term "skunk" is imprecise, at best, and could include hugely different varieties of weed. Perhaps the problem is that they didn't do a fair sample of what is available. A visit to any good marijuana store in California will quickly prove that there are 50 or more varieties available in a good store, each with varying flavors and effects. The staff at the better stores will know which varieties have higher or lower contents of THC and CBD, and they will be able to recommend the proper variety for the patient's needs.

This is a non-issue. There is beer and then there is Everclear. People are free to buy what they want, according to what they think they can handle.

With every drug, there is some minority that shouldn't take it at all. If you want the proof of that, see alcohol -- which is responsible for about ten times as many problems in society as all the illegal drugs combined. Of course, that doesn't mean that alcohol should be illegal. We proved conclusively that was a disaster. See www.druglibrary.org/prohibitionresults.htm

As one of the major studies of the drug laws said, the more dangerous you assume these drugs to be, the more important it becomes to treat them in a non-criminal manner. The reason is that making them a crime only drives the problems underground where it is harder for ordinary social services to deal with them. Not to mention that it makes the bad guys rich.

I personally have had a psychotic episode from smoking weed and will never intentionally do anything to repeat that horrible experience. This may be a highly debatable comment, but I think weed is a guy herb. That is not to say that guys can't have psychotic reactions as well. I'm just saying.

Even with the potential for psychosis, etc., I think it should be legalized for use in general. Seems regulating harvest time, product development, etc. is a solid idea.

I have two adult sons who use it medicinally for different reasons. ADHD & depressions is one, and PTSD and explosive anger another. Weed should not take the place of proper mental health care, but certainly could supplement it.

How ironic that I can't smoke because of adverse mental reactions, but my sons smoke to ease theirs.

I have big plans if it becomes legal. Definitley a Hydroponics store, and would like to develope an e-weed version. Like e-cigarettes. THC in the cap, Atomizer for smoke. Could be the next big thing. Hydroponics is the safest way to grow, great output and most importantly high potency. Have the greenhouse and waiting!

Vaporizing cannabis is a great way to enjoy it's effects. I run for recreation and fitness and my lung capacity is important to me. Since using the vaporizor I never cough and my lung capacity has greatly increased. Smoking sucks. Also using vape, the taste of cannabis is much better.

The only people who want to keep marijuana illegal

are organized crime & the justice system.

A lot of people are employed as police, as guards,

as lawyers as well as judges and are all too happy

to see things continue.

Arresting people and putting them in jail is good business

Organized crime is happy because they make money giving

people what they really, really want.

If marijuana is legal they will happily provide

a more potent alternative to whatever the government

is offering.

I will personally buy from the government once

as a novelty but I will continue to seek out the

best value.

One of the only things i'll have to agree with yabbahabba on.
#1 the term "skunk". Anybody giving such immature names to their buds is either a good salesman (selling to an ignorant kids) or an amateur. Also creating a category called in this article "street cannabis" just doesn't make sense. There are so many different strands with different effects its silly to talk like that.
#2 higher THC content = safer pot! More THC means less smoke for the same effects.

Also as far as psychosis goes, there are millions of triggers for psychosis in those who are susceptible, removing one from the environment does nothing to make people safer.

@IPSPOC "Setting aside the issue of THC's or nicotine's effects on the body, what about the effects of breathing partially-burnt plant matter of any sort?"
Um first of all nobody breathes partially burnt plant matter, thats ridiculous. You can burn the plant and breathe smoke, or vaporize which (believe it or not) also produces smoke to be inhaled, just with a much lower particulate and tar content. However if it finally was legalized, you wouldn't be so ignorant as to think smoking is the only way to get high. As far as safety goes eating/drinking is the best way to go.

@jessicowhite "Best thing is for it to be legalized and have a safer product out there. Kinda like they do with smokes (Filter) with the cancer warning on it." Let me state first that tobacco is absolutely not safer as a result of the filter or the cancer warning! (filters actually make smoking more dangerous, usually causing smokers to want more, without eliminating any harmful substances).
Also, legalizing pot will make it safer, but not because of any government involvement. The safety will come as all different legitimate companies are allowed to research whatever they want involving the drug.

How do we know that the stuff they smoked in the 1960's and 1970's was more rich in CBD that todays "skunk" (a term that is used incorrectly, both in this article and in general)? We don't, because they didn't test for it back then! And they barely do now, having begun only in the past few years. Police seizures may not necessarily be a representative sample anyway. You can't even generalize about "skunk" since (at least in the UK) apparently ALL homegrown sinsemilla is labeled as such by dealers as well as the media.

As for THC levels, the increase in potency has been wildly exaggerated--it is at most 2-3 times stronger, not 10-20 times stronger. And even that's just the based on the average, and stronger varieties (i.e. Thai Stick) have always existed. And testing did not begin until the 1970s, and testing/storage methods changed in the 1980s, so we really don't know much about the stuff they smoked at Woodstock aside from anecdotal evidence.

From what I've read, most (but not all) named strains, many of which are years or decades old, are rich in THC but poor in CBD. The landraces (e.g. North African or Hindu Kush) are the ones that tend to be rich in CBD, as well as some of the named strains that have been made from them specifically. Interestingly, whether it's hash or pot does not seem to matter--it's the plant it came from. And even within strains, the ratio can vary from plant to plant, and even how it's grown and harvested (supposedly too soon = lower CBD).

Perhaps the THC/CBD ratio matters, as CBD can attenuate some of the adverse side effects of THC (especially anxiety), but saying today's stuff is more dangerous than in the past is wild speculation with precious little evidence to back it up.