There has been much debate on whether marijuana is more potent today compared to what it was between 40 and 50 years ago. The United States federal government, itself, released data that purportedly supports that conclusions that marijuana potency nowadays is, at least, 10 times, and, as much as 25 times more potent since 1960s.
Doubts still linger on whether it is true or not.
Sometime before the turn of the century, testimonies arose that, although, the potency has risen compared to around 50 years ago, it has been relatively stable for the past 30 years. It is also important to note that a marijuana sample do not come in the same potency as the others. There are varying level of potencies of marijuana available.
Cannabis testing
Supports of marijuana legalization point out that the marijuana testing done on its potency in the 1960s and 1970s, that became the source of the federal government’s data was not reflected of all of the marijuana available in the United States. They tested only on those of that come from certain locations and, hence, the potency levels derived from the testing does not indicate the potency of those available elsewhere in the United States. The testing done 40 to 50 years ago were done on a type of marijuana from Mexico that contained only levels of tetrahydrocannabinol of less than 1 percent.
Tetrahydrocannabinol is the active ingredient in marijuana, also known as cannabis. It is responsible for the marijuana effects that regularity agencies sought to avoid, and became the basis for the banning or regulation of marijuana.
According to sceptics of the government-released data that when those levels (from the Mexican marijuana variety) were tested against other types of marijuana, it will help draw conclusions that the cannabis potency levels have indeed risen since the 1960s and the 1970s.
Most marijuana varieties have THC levels ranging between 0.3 and 4 percent. There are specially grown varieties, however, that have THC levels of around 15 percent. These are the factors that determine the potency of a marijuana variety:
- The marijuana plant genetics;
- The climate and other conditions where the marijuana plant is grown;
- The manner and methodologies in which it is harvested and processed.
Female varieties of marijuana have reportedly higher levels of THC compared to their male varieties. Female varieties have clusters of flowers in them. Marijuana growers prefer their marijuana variety to be female. It takes a bit of experience, however, to be able to detect which is which.
The chemical composition of a marijuana plant changes when it matures. At its early stages of development, it contains more cannabidiolic acid, another compound which is some sort of a predecessor of THC. As the plant grows, the cannabidiolic acid is, then, converted to cannabidiol, another compound that precedes the development of THC. When the plant matures, the cannabidiol, then, turns to THC.
Over the years, cannabis science have been developed the best way to determine the THC levels of a marijuana variety. Nowadays, THC levels are determined from the cross section of the plant. This method of testing was not done in the 1960s to 1970s. Sceptics pointed the difference in the manner of testing between then and now to discredit the conclusion that marijuana potency levels have risen significantly.
