MARIJUANA ADDICTS WORLDWIDE ARE FUELED BY HIGHLY POTENT WEED, STUDY SAYS

Wed 27 July 2022:

A recent study found that the high concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC—the part of the marijuana plant that makes you high—is the reason why more people are becoming addicted to marijuana.

According to a study that was released on Monday in the journal Lancet Psychiatry, people who use cannabis products with higher potencies—typically between 5 and 10 milligrams per gram of THC—are more likely to develop an addiction and experience mental health problems.

“One of the highest quality studies included in our publication found that use of high potency cannabis, compared to low potency cannabis, was linked to a four-fold increased risk of addiction,” study co-author Tom Freeman, a senior lecturer in the department of psychology and director of the addiction and mental health group at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom, in an email told the CNN.

The research further found that as marijuana became more potent, cases of marijuana-associated psychosis also saw a spike.

According to Freeman, psychosis is a mental state in which one “loses contact with reality” as a result of hearing voices and experiencing delusions.

A report by the United Nations found that in the past two decades, the proportion of people seeking treatment for cannabis addiction has risen in all world regions apart from Africa,” he said.

“The evidence linking cannabis potency to addiction and psychosis was very clear,” he was quoted as saying.

There was a 76 per cent rise in people entering treatment for cannabis addiction over the past decade, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction found.

Freeman quoted the results and stated that “cannabis potency continued to rise during the same time.”

Researchers developed a “standard THC unit” of 5 milligrams, which is thought to cause mild intoxication in occasional users.

In a gram of herbal cannabis—the dried and harvested tops of marijuana plants —THC concentrations increased by approximately 2.9 milligrams each year, according to Freeman and his team at the University of Bath.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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