A comprehensive report compiled by the United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control outlined the latest research on marijuana use and mental health and highlighted issues related to the explosive growth in THC potency and marijuana-impaired driving.
“It’s refreshing to see a committee of the United States Senate recognize the reality that both today’s highly potent pot and the industry profiting from its proliferation deserve much higher levels of scrutiny than it has received,” said Dr. Kevin Sabet, author of ‘Smokescreen: What The Marijuana Industry Doesn’t Want You To Know,’ president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), and a former senior drug policy advisor to the Obama Administration. “We need to establish a much greater level of understanding of today’s marijuana vapes and other forms of high potency products that are increasingly popular among young people in ‘legal’ states, and we absolutely need more voices to join the chorus of those calling for the implementation of THC potency caps.”
The committee, chaired by Senators Diane Feinstein of California and John Cornyn of Texas, examined available research on youth use of marijuana, trends in THC potency in marijuana and its concentrated forms, marijuana-impaired driving, and other impacts on public health and safety and recommended:
-The National Institutes of Health increase its research into the impacts of the use of high-potency marijuana and make a recommendation as to whether states should implement caps on THC potency;
-The previous U.S. Surgeon General’s warning pertaining to the use of marijuana in young people and pregnant women should be amplified and buoyed with public awareness campaigns;
-The Cannabidiol & Marihuana Research Expansion Act to streamline the overall process associated with obtaining research-grade marijuana should be swiftly passed into law; and
-Research regarding the detection of marijuana-impaired driving and the development of standardized field testing should be greatly accelerated.