Potent Pot
Potent Pot
Kathy Kriz (Rochester, NY) 11/22/04 -
The image of marijuana as a harmless drug is slowly changing. Today's pot is different from what people smoked in the sixties and seventies. It's stronger and some even say it's dangerous.
One young man we’ll call Mitch took up hockey at age five, learned football at age nine and when he was fourteen, he tried pot.
"In the beginning, I didn't pay for it at all, and I would only use around certain people," Mitch said.
Marijuana plants look different now. Often, they are grown in water, indoors resulting in more powerful pot.
In government funded studies, scientists evaluating confiscated pot found an increased percentage of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in the drug making it about five times stronger than it was in the seventies.
Another study from Columbia University said "...the drug's increased potency appears to be sending more teens into treatment facilities."
We investigated...and learned the number of Monroe County teens in treatment for marijuana abuse more than tripled in the past decade.
Craig Johnson runs the drug-alcohol recovery program at the Monroe County Jail.
Johnson said, "Regardless of the concentration, you're really dealing with the same drug. So, I'd think any correlation between stronger marijuana and higher rates of dependency would be a very weak one."
However, Colleen Berg who counsels teens at a Brighton facility said, "The quality is better, the THC content is higher and therefore teens can get hooked quicker."
Others in the field argue more teens are in treatment because their parents don't have time to help; there are fewer prevention programs; or, kids are smoking pot at a younger age.
There is no consensus.
Mitch's habit grew so regular, he estimated he spent $45 on pot each day.
He said, "I believe I was addicted to it. You can't tell me I wasn't because I know what I was feeling.”
Mitch eventually quit, after three rounds of counseling.
"I feel more comfortable with myself,” he said, “I feel more relaxed."
Forty-one percent of high school students who answered a Monroe County Health Department Youth Risk Behavior Survey in 2003 said they've used marijuana.
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