Marijuana (Photo : Reuters)
Marijuana strains are getting stronger compared to weed from years ago, a new study says.
The new findings from Charas Scientific, one of the few labs that are certified to test marijuana potency in Colorado, will be presented today Mar. 23 to the American Chemical Society.
Colorado made headlines as marijuana became legal in 2014.
Andy Lafrate, who has a Ph. D and is founder of the lab, said that they have observed a significant spike in the potency of marijuana today compared to 20 or 30 years in the past.
The team of researchers tested the marijuana with laboratory equipment, according to CBS News. They found out that the average marijuana potency lies between 20 and 30 percent THC (tetrahydrocannabinol)-the psychoactive component in weed that makes a person feel high.
"As far as potency goes, it's been surprising how strong a lot of the marijuana is. We've seen potency values close to 30 percent THC, which is huge," said LaFrate.
In addition, the National Institute on Drug Abuse weighed in and said that marijuana potency has been increasing slowly over the recent decades, but today's levels of 20 to 30 percent THC is alarmingly higher than those previously recorded.
Marijuana chemistry expert Anthony Fabrizio from Tech Corp in California said that marijuana today still has medicinal properties despite the high THC content and low level of cannabidiol (CBD)-the medicinal component of weed, according to Live Science.
Fabrizio added that terpenes is responsible for the different feelings marijuana smokers get, and not the THC and CBD level.
Meanwhile, LaFrate discovered other traces of butane, heavy metals and fungi in the samples. He said that the dangerous levels still need to be determined in order to determine whether it should be concerning or not.
