On June 9, 2009 Congressman Mark Kirk (R, Illinois 10th District) participated in a press conference with the Lake County MEG unit and Waukeegan, Illinois police concerning the increasing occurrence of super pot in Illinois.
"Purple Kush" High potency marijuana. Photo credit Kerouachomsky.
Super pot is defined as cannabis that has a higher than average delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content. Kirk noted that suburban Chicago police are increasingly arresting dealers selling marijuana with THC contents in the 20 percent range for street prices that rival cocaine, but with a much lower risk of jail-time.1
The potency of street-grade marijuana has been steadily increasing from an average of 2.8 percent THC in 1985 to 10.1 percent THC in 2008—the highest level ever recorded since tracking began.2 In the Midwest, the average THC content of street-grade marijuana seized by police in 2008 was 8.12 percent.3
Super pot is being defined as marijuana with a THC content of over 15 percent. The University of Mississippi, under a research contract from the federal government, has reported super pot samples with up to 37.2 percent THC. During the 1st quarter of 2009, the researchers reported the THC content of super pot seized during the period was 27.3 percent.4Super pot is causing a sharp increase in emergency room hospitalizations (e.g. panic attacks and heart palpitations) with a 164 percent increase in hospital admissions.5
Marijuana growers are able to increase the potency of marijuana by using special varieties of cannabis (Sinsemilla, known for increased THC potency) and forced growing techniques (e.g. hydroponically hyper-fertilization and long-cycle indoor grow lights). These indoor marijuana growing operations have increased as the profits from super pot have increased. In 2008 alone, 66 indoor marijuana grow operations were seized by Illinois police.6
In addition to high potency marijuana, other forms of super pot are appearing on the street. A rare, yet very potent form of marijuana appeared in the southwest suburbs of Chicago in 2007 known as “Budder”. The substance has a golden/amber color and gooey consistency and is being produced in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Unlike marijuana which is the delta-9 form of THC, “Budder” is the delta-6 isomer and is reportedly 80 to 95 percent THC content. The effective dose is a drop the size of the head of a safety pin top, smoked like hash oil.7
In 2008, a public high school located on Chicago’s north shore reported the first Illinois school drug overdose involving “Spice®”. The student related the drug was purchased over the Internet and smoked just before the start of school. The student experienced a marijuana-like high which developed into a severe anxiety/panic attack. Local police were unfamiliar with the substance which claimed on the package to be herbal extracts of Blue Lotus flowers, Bay Bean, Dwarf Skullcap, Lion’s Tail, and others—all legal. Chemical analysis found the substance to contain several forms of synthetic THC compounds including HU-210, HU-211, CP 47, CP 497, JWH-018, and JWH-073. These synthetic compounds all have a marijuana-like intoxicating effect as they are structurally and pharmacologically similar to delta-9 THC.
Of the synthetic compounds found in Spice, only HU-210 is a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law. HU-210 is reported to be 100-800 times more potent than THC.8Clemson University chemistry professor John Hoffman was quoted recently as saying the compounds in Spice are very easy to make out of readily available raw materials in a simple two-step process. “A good chemistry undergraduate could do it,” said Huffman.9
In addition to Spice, other products containing these super pot synthetic compounds have been sized by police including “Vucatan Fire”, “Skunk”, Sence”, “Genie”, as well as “Spice Gold”, Spice Silver”, and “Spice Diamond”. These products will not test positive using standard police marijuana field reagent test kits.10
Congressman Mark Kirk introduced legislation on June 12, 2009 to amend the federal controlled substances act to include up to 25 years in prison for the trafficking of any product that contains over 15 percent THC.11
- “Rep Kirk wants tougher penalties for super pot” Daily Herald newspaper, June 16, 2009 [↩]
- “Marijuana potency surpasses 10 percent, US says” CNN, May 14, 2009 [↩]
- “Quarterly Report: Potency Monitoring Project” National Institute on Drug Abuse, March 15, 2009 [↩]
- Ibid, page 6 [↩]
- 45,259 hospital admissions in 1995 vs. 215,665 in 2005. “National Estimates of Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits” The DAWN Report, U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 2006. [↩]
- “Domestic Cannabis Cultivation Assessment 2009” National Drug Intelligence Center, July 2009 [↩]
- http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_chemistry2.shtml [↩]
- “Year 2008 Annual Report: National Forensic Laboratory Information System” US DEA, Page 5, July 2009 [↩]
- “The story of Spice” The Financial Times of London, Feb. 13, 2009 [↩]
- “Microgram Bulletin” US DEA Office of Forensic Science, Page 23-24, March 2009. [↩]
- H.R. 2848, “High Potency Marijuana Sentencing Act of 2009” currently referred to the House Committee of the Judiciary. The text of the bill is available at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-111hr2848IH/pdf/BILLS-111hr2848IH.pdf [↩]
