IOWA DRUG CZAR WORRIES ABOUT MARIJUANA

DES MOINES -- Methamphetamine dominates the headlines but Iowa's top drug
policy official said Friday that marijuana remains a major problem in the
state.

"Marijuana concerns me, simply because the purity is skyrocketing," said
Marvin Van Haaften, director of the Governor's Office of Drug Control
Policy, during the taping of Iowa Public Television's "Iowa Press" program
which airs Sunday.

"Our people in addiction treatment (for marijuana) is going up. It is to
the point now where I think we have to take a real serious look at
marijuana again for its addictive qualities," Van Haaften said.

Van Haaften said investigators are regularly seizing and testing potent
marijuana varieties in Iowa that contain 24 percent tetrahydrocannabinol,
or THC, the substance that produces the drug's effects. Some plants being
developed, he said, contain up to 37 percent THC.

Parents who may have grown up in the days of weaker marijuana may not fully
understand the threat posed by today's brand of pot, Van Haaften argues.

"When I was in the Army in 1963 in Fort Reilly, Kan., it was at best 2
percent pure," Van Haaften said.

Stronger pot is more addictive, Van Haaften argues. He said 23 percent of
Iowans receiving substance abuse treatment are trying to kick a marijuana
habit, compared to 16 percent who are addicted to meth. Alcohol addiction
tops the list, afflicting 52 percent of those in treatment.