NEW POTENT MARIJUANA NO JOKE

Statistics show marijuana is the most popular illegal drug in
America, with more than half of our young adults between the ages of
19-28 saying they have used it. But today's marijuana is no Woodstock
rerun; it's potent and dangerous.

In the 1960s and '70's, the average THC content (THC produces the
high and causes physiological problems) in marijuana was
approximately 4 percent. The THC level in the hydroponic marijuana
grown today in Florida has tested up to 30 percent, and the level
continues to rise through plant cloning by growers. This increase in
potency has not only increased the dangerous physical effects of the
drug, but also the addictive nature of marijuana use. Experts believe
that the rate of addiction among daily marijuana users is now higher
than that among daily alcohol drinkers.

Hydroponic marijuana in some areas actually trades ounce for ounce
with cocaine. The drug is so lucrative that grow houses are popping
up in some of the most affluent neighborhoods. These "Marijuana
McMansions" are home to multimillion-dollar growing operations.
Florida had the second highest number of grow-house seizures in the
country in 2006.

One such operation was recently discovered and shut down in North
Florida, where an organized ring had been using seven houses to grow
and distribute large quantities of marijuana. These grow houses
produced 100 pounds of marijuana per month, and traffickers were
netting profits of nearly half a million dollars a year. The Attorney
General's Office of Statewide Prosecution is prosecuting this case
and working with law enforcement to pursue other operations
throughout the state.

Grow houses are often the targets of other violent crimes, including
home invasions and robberies carried out by rival criminal groups, as
the plants alone are worth tens of thousands of dollars. Marijuana is
no longer grown and traded by amateurs -- it is being trafficked by
organized and dangerous rings of criminals.

Taking this threat seriously, our state must pass tougher laws to
crack down on these sophisticated growing operations. I am supporting
legislation sponsored by state Sen. Steve Oelrich, R-Gainesville, and
state Rep. Nick Thompson, R-Fort Myers, that lowers from 300 plants
to 25 plants the standard for creating a presumption that a person is
intending to distribute for profit. The bill also creates a new
penalty for growers who own a house for the purpose of cultivating
marijuana, as well as a new penalty for people who live in or are the
caretakers of marijuana grow houses.

It is our responsibility to not only educate our residents,
especially those who are younger and may be more susceptible to drug
use, about highly potent marijuana, but also to implement new
strategies for curbing the spread of this new and dangerous threat.