A study by the University of Mississippi has discovered that today's marijuana is almost twice as strong as it was 25 years ago.

Over the past 33 years, researchers at UM have studied more than 65,000 samples of marijuana seized by law enforcement personnel in all 50 U.S. states. Since 1975, the amount of Tetrahydracannibinol (THC) in the studied marijuana consistently increased, reaching a 30-year high between 2007 and 2008.

Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said the findings are worrisome because high levels of THC increase the risk of mental impairment and addiction, especially among young people.

Read more http://www.adolescent-substance-abuse.com/marijuana-potency.html.

Labels: marijuana, pot, potency

A team of researchers out of Johns Hopkins University have found that withdrawal symptoms from marijuana are similar to symptoms experienced from nicotine withdrawal. The findings are based on a self-reporting study of 12 heavy users of both marijuana and cigarettes.

"Since the drafting of the SDM-IV in 1994, an increasing number of studies have surfaced suggesting that cannabis has significant withdrawal symptoms. What makes Vandrey's recent study unique is that it is the first study that compares marijuana withdrawal symptoms to withdrawal symptoms that are clinically recognized by the medical community..."

Results of the study also indicate that withdrawal effects need to be considered when clinicians treat heavy marijuana users. Read more at ScienceDaily.com.

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Labels: marijuana, pot, withdrawal

German researchers have found that regularly smoking marijuana or hashish doubles the risk of developing schizophrenia, a severe mental illness.

Dr. Peter Falkai, reporting to the German Society of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Neurology, found that marijuana consumption among those who are genetically predisposed to schizophrenia advances the onset of the disease by about eight years.

Many mental diseases, including schizophrenia and bi-polar disease, usually first appear during adolescence.

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Labels: adolescence, mental_health, pot

USA Today recently published a report on the long term affects of marijuana use. Because of its ease to get and a general belief that it is the mildest of all drugs, many teens and adults admit to smoking pot at least once. But new data shows that smoking pot affects neuropsychological functioning, such as hand-eye coordination, reaction time and memory. Heavy marijuana users also have lower IQ scores and are typically less satisfied with their quality of life.

Then there is the ongoing debate about whether or not pot is a "gateway drug".

"...Studies have shown that when regular pot smokers quit, they do experience withdrawal symptoms, a characteristic used to predict addictiveness. Most users of more addictive drugs, such as cocaine or heroin, started with marijuana, scientists say, and the earlier they started, the greater their risk of becoming addicted. Many studies have documented a link between smoking marijuana and the later use of "harder" drugs such as heroin and cocaine, but that doesn't necessarily mean marijuana causes addiction to harder drugs."

Read more from USA Today.

Labels: addiction, gateway drugs, marijuana, pot