The University's Potency Monitoring Project compared current marijuana samples to some seized since 1975 from 48 states. The highest level of concentration in a single sample of the chemical during the project was 37.2 percent. The average amount currently in a single sample is 9.6 percent, a 4 percent increase since 1983, according to the report.
Because of high THC levels achieved through selective breeding of the
marijuana plant, individuals are more moody, show depression when
marijuana use is restricted and develop an addiction to THC, said
Austin Police Department Sgt. Richard Burns.
Individuals who
smoke daily and inhale a greater amount of THC in one sitting are at
risk of health hazards that include respiratory and mental defects,
Maxwell said.
"I think it is a drug that has changed its
composition, and I think smoking a blunt compared to a joint is another
factor," Maxwell said. "People are smoking a lot more in a cigar than
in a joint."