I can hear half this thread whisper silently "if only it were true... *sigh*".
Potency variations in *various* active chemicals across strains is not a new thing. Just because higher quality strains are supposedly more easily accessible does not mean they have not always existed...
And even if pot were hypothetically more potent, it does not mean more dangerous. It simply means smokers will smoke less to get the same effect. Sure, some new to pot might smoke too much accidentally, but that was
always the case, and is certainly also the case with those drinking for the first time as well. As long as marijuana is "taboo" and it's experience a clandestine thing where proper education is hard to come by, this will always be the case. Were it legal, moderation could be taught, as well as an informed guide about the effects of various strains, etc.
I believe what's leading to the supposed increase in ER visits is fear... pure and simple. Instead of saying "oh boy... he's stoned... lol"... it's "OMG! we have to get him to an emergency room!". Even the researcher they cite notes that there has been a change in perception about marijuana's dangers (a cause de propaganda), but he fails to connect the dots that fear of that danger might be increasing
unnecessary ER visits. What are they going to do in an ER anyway? If anything, that'll scare somebody who's tripping/paranoid. It's better to change the setting and put on some trippy music/video... maybe provide some shiny objects and trip toys... an experienced smoker/trip-sitter to ensure the person that everything is ok, etc... it can be as simple as "dude... you're paranoid cause you're stoned. That wears off once you realize that there is nothing to be afraid of. Nobody can tell you're stoned anyway. here, listen to this Radiohead album". Nobody has ever died from smoking too much pot nor will anybody ever die. It's not like alcohol where you can get poisoning. The worst, absolute worst, thing that can happen is that you get a bit paranoid but this is *easy* to get over, especially if there is an experienced smoker with you. What the fuck is anybody doing taking a person to the ER for smoking too much pot. It's just a stupid thing to do.
There is so much misinformation and misunderstanding about pot it's frightening.
One thing that nobody in the US seems to get, including the government (which is no surprise, really), is that different effects between plants are not caused by differences in potencies of THC, but the difference in the ratio of THC to CBD. High THC, low CBD strains (Sativa) tend to be a mental stimulant while high CBD, low THC strains (indica) tend to be a relaxant/depressant. Different amounts of the same weed do not have different effects, it's the
difference in strain.
http://www.medicalmarihuana.ca/strains.htmlWere weed legal, it would be a lot easier to get the desired strain and therefore the desired, much more predictable result (and fewer ER visits, etc). Education, real education about drugs, is almost taboo in our society. Our government seems more interesting in demonizing what they refuse to understand rather than examing the issue from a truthful perspective. It's political, not scientific, as so much in government is...