Claim: Today’s marijuana is 300 percent to 800 percent more potent than the pot of yesteryear.
Verdict: SUPPORTS

Retrieved passages:
title: Urban legends about drugs
text: included as a possible cause of Lee's death. An oft-repeated legend is that today's cannabis is at least an order of magnitude stronger than in the past (and by implication much more dangerous). THC levels are allegedly 10, 20 or even 30 times higher than in the 1960s or 1970s. Although potency levels have risen in several countries (such as the US and UK), the actual increases have been much more modest (almost threefold from 1982 to 2007 in the US) and high-potency strains have always existed, as have various concentrated forms of cannabis. Furthermore, potency of seized samples was

title: Cannabis (drug)
text: enforcement efforts that make outdoor cultivation more risky. It is often cited that the average levels of THC in cannabis sold in the United States rose dramatically between the 1970s and 2000, but such statements are likely skewed because undue weight is given to much more expensive and potent, but less prevalent samples. "Skunk" refers to several named strains of potent cannabis, grown through selective breeding and sometimes hydroponics. It is a cross-breed of "Cannabis sativa" and "C. indica" (although other strains of this mix exist in abundance). Skunk cannabis potency ranges usually from 6% to 15% and rarely as

title: Cannabis (drug)
text: 2015, a record 44% of the US population has tried marijuana in their lifetime, an increase from 38% in 2013 and 33% in 1985. Marijuana use in the United States is three times above the global average, but in line with other Western democracies. 44% of American 12th graders have tried the drug at least once, and the typical age of first-use is 16, similar to the typical age of first-use for alcohol but lower than the first-use age for other illicit drugs. It is often claimed by growers and breeders of herbal cannabis that advances in breeding and cultivation

title: Cannabis (drug)
text: states have decriminalized and even legalized marijuana. In 2015, almost half of the people in the United States had tried marijuana, 12% had used it in the past year, and 7.3% had used it in the past month. In 2014, daily marijuana use amongst US college students had reached its highest level since records began in 1980, rising from 3.5% in 2007 to 5.9% in 2014 and had surpassed daily cigarette use. In the US, men are over twice as likely to use marijuana as women and 18-29 year-olds are six times more likely to use as over 65-year-olds. In

title: Urban legends about drugs
text: Although the 1960s are commonly perceived as a time of rampant marijuana use compared with the present day, in a 1969 Gallup poll only 4% of American adults had tried marijuana and 34% did not know its effects. In contrast, later Gallup polls show that the percentage of adults who had tried marijuana had risen to 33% by 1985 and 34% by 1999. The third most common illicit drug that is the source of urban legends is 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), better known as "ecstasy." In the United States, this substance was banned in 1985, and other countries followed suit as well.

title: Cannabis (drug)
text: revisions to cannabis scheduling in the UK, the government moved cannabis back from a class C to a class B drug. A purported reason was the appearance of high potency cannabis. They believe skunk accounts for between 70 and 80% of samples seized by police (despite the fact that skunk can sometimes be incorrectly mistaken for all types of herbal cannabis). Extracts such as hashish and hash oil typically contain more THC than high potency cannabis flowers. Marijuana or marihuana (herbal cannabis), consists of the dried flowers and subtending leaves and stems of the female "Cannabis" plant. This is the

title: Cannabis (drug)
text: high as 20%. The average THC level in coffee shops in the Netherlands is about 18–19%. The price or street value of cannabis varies widely depending on geographic area and potency. In the United States, cannabis is overall the number four value crop, and is number one or two in many states including California, New York and Florida, averaging . Some believe it generates an estimated $36 billion market. Some have argued that this estimate is methodologically flawed, and makes unrealistic assumptions about the level of marijuana consumption. Other estimates claiming to correct for this flaw claim that the market

title: Washington Initiative 1068
text: Marijuana Patient Protection Act of 2008, versions of which have been discussed since 2001. In 1998, Washington voters passed Initiative 692, removing criminal penalties for medical patients with an approved condition. Ten years later, a "60-day" supply for patients was defined as 24 ounces and 15 plants. In early 2010, two bills relating to marijuana were defeated in committee by the Legislature (one proposed selling marijuana through liquor stores, the other sought decriminalize marijuana). Frustrated with the Legislature, Seattle activists filed I-1068 in January. On February 10, the Attorney General's office issued a ballot title and summary for the initiative.

title: National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws
text: enforcement agencies seized 32% of domestic cannabis plants planted that year. According to the report, "Marijuana remains the fourth largest cash crop in America despite law enforcement spending an estimated $10 billion annually to pursue efforts to outlaw the plant." Recent studies show that marijuana is larger than all other cash crops combined. In 2002, the organization used ads containing New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg quotes on his past use of pot, saying "You bet I did. And I enjoyed it." The mayor said "I’m not thrilled they’re using my name. I suppose there’s that First Amendment that gets

title: 2014 Oregon Ballot Measure 91
text: use among adults. Effective July 1, 2015 (per Section 82(1)) the measure legalizes the possession and use of marijuana for adults 21-years of age or older. Adults can carry up to one ounce of marijuana, keep up to eight ounces at home per household, and grow up to four plants per household. Retail sales outlets will be licensed by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which must begin accepting applications on or before January 4, 2016. Early sales started October 1, 2015 through existing medical marijuana dispensaries. Sales topped $11 million in the first week that recreational marijuana was legally available

title: Urban legends about drugs
text: marijuana being actively smoked for several hours (often referred to as a "hotbox"). Hair testing, however, is a different matter, particularly with passive exposure to crack/cocaine, which can deposit onto hair and be readily incorporated into it. With regards to cannabis, however, typically only metabolites (produced by the body and thus not found in smoke) are tested rather than THC, so failure is unlikely to result from non-extreme passive exposure. Niacin, also known as Vitamin B3, is speciously claimed by some to "burn it out" of one's system when taken at high doses (250–500 mg per day). While some Internet

title: Medical cannabis
text: several European countries for overactive bladder and vomiting. When sold under the trade name Sativex as a mouth spray, the prescribed daily dose in Sweden delivers a maximum of 32.4 mg of THC and 30 mg of CBD; mild to moderate dizziness is common during the first few weeks. Relative to inhaled consumption, peak concentration of oral THC is delayed, and it may be difficult to determine optimal dosage because of variability in patient absorption. In 1964, Albert Lockhart and Manley West began studying the health effects of traditional cannabis use in Jamaican communities. They developed, and in 1987 gained

title: Cannabis
text: 2013, 60,400 kilograms of cannabis were produced legally. In 2014 there were an estimated 182.5 million cannabis users (3.8% of the population aged 15–64). This percentage has not changed significantly between 1998 and 2014. Cannabis is an annual, dioecious, flowering herb. The leaves are palmately compound or digitate, with serrate leaflets. The first pair of leaves usually have a single leaflet, the number gradually increasing up to a maximum of about thirteen leaflets per leaf (usually seven or nine), depending on variety and growing conditions. At the top of a flowering plant, this number again diminishes to a single leaflet

title: History of cannabis
text: more- and less-dangerous categories, with cannabis being in the lesser category. Accordingly, possession of 30 grams or less was made a misdemeanor. Cannabis has been available for recreational use in coffee shops since 1976. Cannabis products are only sold openly in certain local "coffeeshops" and possession of up to 5 grams for personal use is decriminalised, however: the police may still confiscate it, which often happens in car checks near the border. Other types of sales and transportation are not permitted, although the general approach toward cannabis was lenient even before official decriminalisation. Cannabis began to attract renewed interest as

title: Arguments for and against drug prohibition
text: showed that the proportion of frequent users in the 16–24 age group (i.e. who were using cannabis more than once a month), fell from 12% to 8% in the past four years. American teenagers are drinking and smoking less and doing fewer drugs than their predecessors in more than 40 years of tracking. Use of marijuana is down among 8th- and 10th-graders, though it is flat among high school seniors, according to the annual Monitoring the Future survey of American teens. The US Drug Enforcement Agency's "2008 Marijuana Sourcebook" argues that recent research supports the gateway hypothesis that certain drugs

title: Urban legends about drugs
text: not tested before 1971, leaves were not distinguished from buds by testers at first, and samples from before the early 1980s (when testing and storage procedures were changed) were often degraded, making comparisons going that far back inaccurate. Non-representative sampling was also an issue. Since most of the increase happened after 2000, this legend can be considered an example of ostension (people have been making such claims as far back as the 1970s). A related claim, especially in the UK, is that the cannabidiol/THC "ratio" has decreased over the past few decades, resulting in a new and presumably more dangerous

title: Recreational drug use
text: twentyfold. In 1969, the FBI reported that between the years 1966 and 1968, the number of arrests for marijuana possession, which had been outlawed throughout the United States under Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, had increased by 98%. Despite acknowledgement that drug use was greatly growing among America's youth during the late 1960s, surveys have suggested that only as much as 4% of the American population had ever smoked marijuana by 1969. By 1972, however, that number would increase to 12%. That number would then double by 1977. The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 classified marijuana along with heroin and

title: Arguments for and against drug prohibition
text: the lowest users of marijuana or cannabis in Europe, despite the Netherlands' policy on soft drugs being one of the most liberal in Europe, allowing for the sale of marijuana at "coffee shops", which the Dutch have allowed to operate for decades, and possession of less than 5 grams (0.18 oz). British Crime Survey statistics indicated that the proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds using cannabis decreased from 28% a decade ago to 21%, with its declining popularity accelerating after the decision to downgrade the drug to class C was announced in January 2004. The BCS figures, published in October 2007,

title: Medical cannabis
text: tried to quit marijuana such as craving, irritability, boredom, anxiety and sleep disturbances. About 9% of those who experiment with marijuana eventually become dependent. The rate goes up to one in six among those who begin use as adolescents, and one-quarter to one-half of those who use it daily according to a NIDA review. A 2013 review estimates daily use is associated with a 10-20% rate of dependence. The highest risk of cannabis dependence is found in those with a history of poor academic achievement, deviant behavior in childhood and adolescence, rebelliousness, poor parental relationships, or a parental history of

title: Decriminalization of non-medical cannabis in the United States
text: Partnership for a Drug-Free America with support from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the White House Office of Drug Control Policy launched a campaign against cannabis use citing a Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) report, which claimed that cannabis users are 85 times more likely than non-cannabis users to try cocaine. However, an article published in "The Activist Guide" by John Morgan and Lynn Zimmer entitled "Marijuana's Gateway Myth", claims CASA's statistic is false. The article states: Multiple opponents of cannabis decriminalization have claimed increased cannabis use results in increased abuse of other illicit drugs.