POTENT POT PUTS NEW SPIN ON DECRIMINALIZATION DEBATE

Marijuana is not what it used to be.

The Woodstock-era weed smoked by legions of baby boomers has morphed
in recent years into a drug whose potency has more than tripled.

And that has ignited a debate about whether America's most commonly
used illict drug, a substance tried by an increasingly younger
audience, has grown more dangerous.

Public safety and health experts worry that many of the Bay Staters
who voted two weeks ago in a nonbinding referendum to decriminalize
pot were unaware of the drug's dramatic change and its potential to
harm unsuspecting new users, particularly teens.

"I am sure (voters) are reaching back to the 1970s and saying, 'Weed,
it wasn't that bad.' But things are different," said state police Sgt.
Alan Zani, a narcotics officer in the Essex County District Attorney's
Office.

Zani said he has been seizing marijuana that informants who are
longtime pot smokers say is knocking them for a loop.

But referendum supporters, who are pushing for pot possession to be
treated more like a traffic ticket than a criminal offense, say the
potency issue is a scare tactic.

They point to a recent study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse
which shows the percentage of high schoolers who reported getting
"very high" from pot declined during the 1980s, while pot potency
started to rise. They say this proves that kids figured out how to
adjust their doses of the stronger stuff.

However, the same study notes that the proportion of high schoolers
reporting "very high" highs started to climb again in the 1990s and
has held steady through 2001.

"While (marijuana) is not the right thing for everybody, the level of
harm it generates is so far below the harms we tolerate from alcohol
and tobacco," said Michael Cutler, an attorney and co-founder of the
Drug Policy Forum of Massachusetts, a privately funded
marijuana-decriminalization group.

"If you fear the new marijuana because it is so much more powerful,"
Cutler said, "all the more reason to regulate it, control it and tax
it."

What has changed in marijuana is the percentage of the mind-altering
chemical, known as THC. Technological advances, particularly in
indoor-growing operations, have allowed growers to create plants with
significantly higher THC levels.

Federal data show THC levels have risen from an average of between 1
and 2 percent in the 1970s to an average of 5.3 percent last year,
with much of the increase coming in the 1990s.

Since the 1970s, law enforcement officers around the country have sent
thousands of seized samples to the federally funded Potency Monitoring
Project at the University of Mississippi.

The project's latest data show that, in the past year, THC levels in
some pot samples have spiked as high as 33 percent.

There is no shortage of pot in the Bay State and demand for the more
powerful stuff is on the rise, says the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration.

"We are seeing an increase of Canadian marijuana coming over the
border and, unfortunately, it's the more potent marijuana," said Mark
Trouville, special agent in charge of the DEA's New England Field Division.

"Children aren't going to know how potent that marijuana cigarette
is," Trouville said. "You can get some (Canadian) 'BC Bud' as high as
30 percent (THC)."

The influx of potent pot comes as groups that favor decriminalization
plan to meet with state lawmakers and seek their support of bills, to
be filed in January, that would eliminate jail sentences for first-
and second-offense pot posession offenders and instead provide
addiction treatment.

Similar bills have stalled in the past.

This time, supporters say, legislators can't ignore the fact that
about 60 percent of the voters in the 19 districts where the ballot
question ran supported decriminalization.

The nonbinding question asked whether the state representative should
vote in favor of legislation that would make possession of less than
one ounce of pot a civil violation, punishable by a maximum fine of
$100. Currently, such offenders face criminal penalties with jail time
and fines up to $1,000.

"The current prohibition on marijuana is ultimately designed to
protect public health and it does so," said Dr. Michael Gastfriend,
director of the addiction research program at Massachusetts General
Hospital.

Health experts note that of the reasons for the thousands of
drug-related visits to U.S. hospital emergency rooms last year,
adverse reactions from pot use ranked fourth. They say this indicates
the higher potency is likely catching many off-guard.

"The sizable unknowns about marijuana make it an unreasonable risk to
make it widely available," Gastfriend said. "We wouldn't do that today
if we had a second chance with tobacco."

But those who favor decriminalization say it could save the
cash-strapped Bay State millions each year in law enforcement resources.

A new report by the Drug Policy Forum concludes that decriminalization
could save Massachusetts $24.3 million annually. The report was
written by Boston University economics professor Jeffrey Miron.

While not endorsing decriminalization, the head of the Boston Police
Department's Drug Control Division said his 100 officers are spread so
thinly over the city's 48 square miles, they concentrate on the
illicit drugs - crack, cocaine and heroin - that produce the most
violence and crime.

"If you live in the South End and kids are smoking pot on the corner,
I could have that handled by the walking man who will go broom those
kids, saying see you later, scram," said Detective Lt. Frank Armstrong.

With the revitalized decriminalization issue headed to the state
Legislature, the lawmaker who heads the criminal justice committee
says he has some strong reservations - particularly because of pot's
increased potency.

"I do not know how you send the message that it's OK for adults to
smoke pot and not have the message trickle down to kids," said Rep.
Stephen Tobin (D-Quincy).

Sixty percent of voters in Tobin's district approved
decriminalization. Tobin said he does not believe most voters were
aware of the higher potency issue. He also said he was unaware of the
report that indicates the state could save $24 million annually
through decriminalization.

"I look forward to learning more," Tobin said. "But is it OK to
promote marijuana to a whole new generation if it saves $24 million?"