MYTH: Marijuana is just like alcohol. If we people drink, we should let them use marijuana.

Lawmakers have to play catch-up on the cannabis products being sold today. THC is the psychoactive component typically associated with the “high” from marijuana. In the U.S., THC concentrations in the 1970s on average were under 2%^[i], reached 3% in the 1980s, were 4% by the mid-1990s and steadily climbed to almost 15% by 2018^[ii].

Today, especially in legal markets, we are seeing even higher concentrations. For example, in Washington state, flower products – that is, marijuana that is smoked – commonly exceed 20% THC^[iii]. Concentrates, which include dabs, hash oil and other products, routinely exceed 60% THC^[iv].

“High potency” cannabis is considered to be anything over 10% THC^[v]. Use of high potency cannabis is associated with a number of outcomes, including greater risk of cannabis use disorder and adverse mental health outcomes.

Highly potent weed creating marijuana addicts worldwide, study says – CNN Health

“Higher concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinol or THC – the part of the marijuana plant that makes you high – are causing more people to become addicted in many parts of the world…Concentrated products can reach extremely high levels of THC.”

[i] https://doi.org/10.1111/add.15253

[ii] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2020.12.016

[iii] https://doi.org/10.1111/add.13886

[iv] https://adai.uw.edu/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Cannabis-Concentration-and-Health-Risks-2020.pdf

[v] https://adai.uw.edu/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Cannabis-Concentration-and-Health-Risks-2020.pdf