DRUG CZAR LINKS CANADIAN POT TO U.S. WOES

High-Test Marijuana Blamed For Rise Of Hospitalizations And Addiction Rate

The number of U.S. teenagers and adults ending up in emergency wards
or seeking treatment because of marijuana use has soared in recent
years and seems linked to the "dramatically" growing influx of
high-test Canadian pot, the White House drug czar said yesterday.

John Walters estimated the industry is also funnelling "billions" of
dollars into the pockets of organized crime north of the border and
said Canadian prosecutors tell him they need tougher laws to combat
the grow-op bonanza.

"The question that is always on our side of the border, and on theirs,
when these problems arise is 'How many more people will suffer until
we are able to change the trend line?' "

The elevated THC content - the active ingredient in pot - of that
Canadian marijuana means it can no longer be considered a soft drug,
argued Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug
Control Policy.

His concerns, voiced at a news conference, reflect a growing anxiety
among some politicians and government officials in the United States
about Canada, a country not traditionally viewed as a major supplier
of drugs.

The number of U.S. residents admitted to hospital emergency wards
because of marijuana use has doubled to 120,000 annually in the past
five years, he said. Meanwhile, the number of teenagers seeking
treatment for marijuana dependency has grown to the point where it is
more than for all other drugs combined, including alcohol, he said.

The phenomenon has paralleled a growing potency of marijuana available
in North America, from containing one to two per cent THC less than a
decade ago to eight per cent or nine per cent and, in some cases, 20
per cent or more in recent years, he said.