REPORT SAYS POT POTENCY IS AT HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE '75

WASHINGTON - Marijuana potency increased last year to the highest
level in more than 30 years, posing greater health risks to people
who may view the drug as harmless, according to a report released
today by the White House.

The latest analysis from the University of Mississippi's Potency
Monitoring Project tracked the average amount of THC, the
psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, in samples seized by law
enforcement agencies from 1975 through 2007. It found that the
average amount of THC reached 9.6 percent in 2007, compared with 8.75
percent the previous year.

The 9.6 percent level represents more than a doubling of marijuana
potency since 1983, when it averaged just under 4 percent.

John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug
Control Policy, cited the risk of psychological, cognitive and
respiratory problems, and the potential for marijuana users to become
dependent on drugs such as cocaine and heroin.

The White House office attributed the increases in marijuana potency
to sophisticated growing techniques that drug traffickers are using
at sites in the United States and Canada.

The project analyzed data on 62,797 cannabis samples, 1,302 hashish
samples, and 468 hash oil samples obtained primarily from seizures by
law enforcement agencies in 48 states since 1975.