The National Institute for Drug Abuse, citing data found by the University of Mississippi’s Marijuana Potency Project (why did I go to college in Wisconsin?), released information yesterday supporting commonly asserted claims that today’s dope is really good shit.

The average THC levels evident in the hashish and marijuana that is available today is far higher than in the same products available in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. In fact, there has been a 1.5% increase in THC levels in the average bag of weed since only four years ago.

To illustrate: that dime bag you bought off of the kid down the street in 1988 had an average THC content of around 3.5%; today’s level is more like 8.5% or more.

National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Dr. Nora Volkow fears that the increased levels of THC are responsible for an increase in marijuana-related emergencies, and that, since many adults remember the weed of their youth as harmless, they are not taking seriously this “problem.”

On a personal note, I have barely touched marijuana for years for precisely this reason; today’s pot is way, way too strong for me. Used to be I had to smoke a few bowls to get a high and one too many and I had a headache; today, two small hits and I’m uselessly stoned off my ass, unable to even tell if I have a headache. Where is the tasty, low-grade ditch weed of my youth? All we have is this wildly expensive hydroponically grown cloned super bud.
Fuck that shit, I’ll just have a beer, thanks.

U.S. marijuana even stronger than before: report [reuters.com]