I Was Born Too Late

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY

Washington, DC 20503

For Immediate Release:
Thursday June 12, 2008

New Report Finds Highest-Ever Levels of THC in U.S. Marijuana

Increased Potency of Smoked Marijuana May Be Responsible for Serious Mental Health Consequences for Teens

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) released the latest analysis from the University of Mississippi’s Potency Monitoring Project, which revealed that levels of THC – the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana – have reached the highest-ever amounts since scientific analysis of the drug began in the late 1970s. According to the latest data on marijuana samples analyzed to date, the average amount of THC in seized samples has reached a new high of 9.6 percent. This compares to an average of just under 4 percent reported in 1983 and represents more than a doubling in the potency of the drug since that time.