Cannabis resin now 25% more potent

[Intrinsic]

IDK I smoked a lot of of really really good shit in the early 70s. The average has risen probably cuz less 'mersh dragging it down.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/202 ... dy-reveals
Cannabis resin now 25% more potent, global study reveals

Concentrations of intoxicating THC have risen, data from more than 80,000 street drug samples gathered over 50 years shows

Jamie Doward
Sun 15 Nov 2020 

Cannabis resin – or “hash” – has increased in strength by nearly 25% over the past half century, a major international study has revealed.

Researchers with the Addiction and Mental Health Group at the University of Bath analysed data from more than 80,000 cannabis street samples tested in the past 50 years in the US, UK, Netherlands, France, Denmark, Italy and New Zealand.

Their findings, published in the journal Addiction, reveal concentrations of THC – the intoxicating component of cannabis responsible for giving users a “high” – have changed over time.

In herbal cannabis, THC concentrations increased by 14% between 1970 and 2017. This was primarily due to a rising market share of stronger varieties, such as sinsemilla. Concentrations in cannabis resin, which is extracted from herbal cannabis, increased by 24% between 1975 and 2017.

This was the equivalent of a 5mg increase in THC per annum. One 5mg dose is enough for mild intoxication, according to the researchers.

“Cannabis has continued to increase in strength over time, such that today it differs enormously from the type of drug used by people 50 years ago,” said lead author Dr Tom Freeman. “During this time attitudes have also shifted. There is now a greater appreciation of its complex interplay with mental health and potential medicinal uses.”

“Cannabis resin is often seen as a safer type of cannabis, but our findings show that it is now stronger than herbal cannabis,” said study co-author Sam Craft. “Traditionally, cannabis resin contained much lower amounts of THC with equal quantities of CBD (cannabidiol, which is believed to have some health benefits), however CBD concentrations have remained stable as THC has risen substantially, meaning it is now much more harmful than it was years ago.”

Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in the world but has recently been legalised in Canada, Uruguay and several states in the US.

The researchers have argued that increases in cannabis strength highlight the need for harm-reduction strategies similar to those used for alcohol – such as standard units and guidelines on safer consumption limits.

...

[Prawn Connery]

Fucking one-eyed study with an obvious agenda.

I'm surprised pot samples haven't increased even more! And for exactly the reasons Intrinsic mentions: more quality, better curing, better trimming – just more alround care with growing and handling the stuff. Sure, strains have also been bred for potency, but with all that quality around, no-one settles for shitty weed or hash that's been cut anymore.

As for it being "much more harmful than it was years ago" – what a load of shit! They've been using the same "super weed" argument for decades now with no proof it is any more "harmful" than it was thousands of years ago when man first started imbibing it.

I mean, is alcohol any more "harmful" than it was years ago? Is beer less harmful than whiskey? Fuck no – not if you drink enough of it! It's probably more harmful than spirits because of all the other crap that goes in it.

When will journalists do their fucking job and ask these fuckwits to prove their claims or STFU?

[Butcher Bob]

Well what do you expect from The Guardian.

Starting with the premise that THC = potency, will only give you erroneous conclusions.
Sure wish I had me some of that old single digit Thai weed.

[deran]

....
Researchers with the Addiction and Mental Health Group at the University of Bath analysed data from more than 80,000 cannabis street samples tested in the past 50 years in the US, UK, Netherlands, France, Denmark, Italy and New Zealand.

...

UK, Netherlands, France, Denmark, Italy = Morocco

the reason is simple, oldschool Moroccan landrace is extinct , gone with the wind, forever
instead, the fields in north africa are Pakistani varieties, which are more potent and stronger, and also deliver a bigger yield;
also the thc - cbd ratios are more thc heavy compared to original Moroccan landraces;
farmers are also catching up with essentials, like removing males out of the fields;
space for farming is also growing, it used to be a Ketama only thing, now the fields reach down to Mediterranean sea, like Tigidine and other non typical growing areas
and last but not least, globalization, famers importing bulk seeds from holland, fields of amnesia haze or sour diesel or any other commercially available strains can be found in the rif mountains paired with more advanced sieving techs, like better sieves in different micron sizes than the once only used universal silk cloth, water bubble hash is also now a part of the tech as is bho

judging hash, i made the observation, that you cant find anymore the worst of the worst, like those famous soap bars or the so called EU slabs, they are gone for good
its easy to judge primo, but then .... anyone can make it, it makes more sense to look out for the worst of the worst, and those arent produced anymore, not that you cant find em, there are sure some douchbags that will cut something up, i mean the farmers themselves, they dont put out anymore those schwaggy qualities

and alone that, makes up for the increase in 25% quality

[Oldjoints]

I think there was always good hashish available to people that knew where to get it. In Naples Italy back in the 70’s I really enjoyed the black hash I was getting. It was black on the inside just like it was on the outside not green on the inside like some black hash that was available, it was also soft. It was just like the temple balls being sold. Most people were buying the shitty Moroccan that was hard as a rock and tasted like shit.
I still enjoy a good bowl of hash as a night cap:

[Prawn Connery]

Lebanese blonde was the first hash I ever smoked in about 1984 and it was the real deal. I;d put that up against almost anything today. The only thing that's come close in recent times is resin dabbing.

[Roots]

Water hash is stronger than any foreign hash I’ve ever smoked.

That being said I enjoy the way good foreign hash smokes and make sift for my personal stash now...Just did two runs of water hash and ended up pressing it all....just don’t enjoy it in the pipe.

With flowers being so cheap I can waste a few pounds making high grade sift.

[deran]

strenght is determined by genetics

if you dont have a clue roots, just shut the fuck up

[Roots]

And foreign hash is made from well known genetics and has a long history of being tested for both thc and cbd....I think government of Israel has a chart that shows tested foreign hash over the past 50 years.

[Roots]

https://lumirlab.com/publication/the-ma ... -republic/

[Roots]

The highest I’ve ever been was on Mexican weed with seeds, but that was back when I was a little girl, I doubt that weed has 2% thc.

[Intrinsic]

https://lumirlab.com/publication/the-main-cannabinoids-content-in-hashish-samples-seized-in-israel-and-czech-republic/

Kind of interesting sorta, but I didn't see any measurement over time. 50 years?

[Jesús Malverde]

As someone mentioned upthread, good weed is about the same as it ever was. It's just way easier to get today, less shit commercial (or ~none where I am).

[bentech]

when i was in san diego wed pay attention to the seeded brick
cuz every now and then it was fantastic...

[Butcher Bob]

A lot of brick weed was good...seemed like the more it smelled like pepper, the better it was.

Two HUGE downfalls...being able to break it up into something more smokable than dust...and losing half the weight to stems and seeds.

Knowing how pollenating a plant changes the quality of the buds, makes me wonder what that brick weed would have been like had it not been seeded and put in a trash compacter.