Is cannabis stronger than it was in the 70s? Aside from the cannabinoid content, cannabis certainly looks, smells, and feels much different than it did in the 1970s.

According to Dr. Mahmoud El Sohly, director of the Marijuana Potency Project, cannabis in the 1970s contained approximately 1-4% THC. This may sound like an incredibly low level of THC, but, cannabis in the 1970s may have had a more beneficial synergy with the entire body due to an equal ratio of cannabinoid content. This is known as the entourage effect and occurs when cannabinoids and terpenes interact with the endocannabinoid system.

Cannabis is a simple plant, but, its evolution is fascinating. Learn more about the evolution of cannabis below.

Is Cannabis Stronger Than it Was in the 1970s? Scientific Evidence Points to Yes

The University of Mississipi’s Center for Natural Projects Research has been testing cannabis that has been confiscated in police raids since the 1970s. In accordance with popular belief, their evidence points to a 57-67% increase in psychoactive cannabinoids in cannabis, such as THC, since the 1970s.

There are several major points since the 1970s in which these cannabis samples increased their potency on a noticeable basis.

In the 1980s, with hydroponic systems becoming more popular and seeds becoming more available, there was a massive upsurge in the cannabinoid content of cannabis seized in police raids. Although cannabis bricks were still heavily imported from other countries until around 2010, the 1980s were truly a foundational time for the modern North American cannabis industry and homegrown cannabis strains.

In the 2000s, there was also an upsurge in the cannabinoid content (specifically THC) of cannabis seized by police. This was due to the second-generation of hydroponics growers having access to more information through the internet. Early cannabis sites provided helpful information, growing guides, and more, which, in turn, helped to raise the average potency levels of North American cannabis

Advances in cannabis growing technologies have encouraged growers to experiment with different techniques for their best results.

Nowadays, cannabis is legal in many places across the world and this brings high-quality investment and equipment to the cannabis world. Growing cannabis has become an incredibly high-tech exercise for those wanting to maximize their yield, cannabinoid content, and potency of a specific strain. Modern cannabis strains benefit from the past 40 years of incognito growers who risked their freedom to breed the best cannabis possible.

How Much Stronger Can Cannabis Get?

Cannabis strains, especially in the medical arena, have been specifically bred to maximize the characteristics of the said strain. These highly specialized strains have become increasingly more potent as the medical cannabis industry grows to its largest size yet.

New technologies, academic studies, and the legalization of cannabis are just three of the major factors in terms of hindering the increasing potency of modern cannabis.

An example of these factors conspiring together is that a specific cannabis strain may grow incredibly well in one part of the world and contain more cannabinoids, however, this country has prohibited cannabis for 100 years plus. The lack of growing technology available in that country, cannabis legalization (and a medical cannabis industry), and studies surrounding the specific location and strain may hinder the increasing potency of the strain.

Although THC levels have increased significantly across all cannabis since the 1970s, the ratios of cannabinoids and terpenes have been somewhat compromised in the process. For the last 40 years, cannabis strains have been bred to have a greater yield, contain more THC, and to have a shorter growth period.

These factors may have had an impact upon the “entourage effect”, which is the synergistic relationship between the endocannabinoid system, terpenes, and cannabinoids. Far more study is needed to compare the cannabis samples from the 1970s to modern cannabis with regards to terpene content, cannabinoid ratio, and the entourage effect.

Only in the last decade has non-psychoactive CBD cannabis become popular with medical patients and the academic research within this topic is somewhat limited.

The importance of breeding cannabis specifically for other cannabinoids, such as CBD, is that a more diverse range of cannabis will eventually be available to both medical and recreational consumers.

The average level of THC in today’s cannabis strains is approximately 13%-17%, with some strains reaching 25% THC and upward; one example of how cannabis is stronger than it was in the 1970s. Exploring high levels of other beneficial cannabinoids, such as CBD, CBG, etc will be an important evolution in the cannabis industry.

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Further Reading/Sources:

Brodwin, E. (2017). A scientist leading the largest marijuana study in history says it’s ‘5x stronger’ than in 1980.

Business Insider. CBS News. (2015). Marijuana Far More Potent Than It Used To Be, Tests Finds.

Hellerman, C. (2013). Is Super Weed Super Bad? CNN Health.

Sevigny, E. L. (2013). “Is today’s marijuana more potent simply because it’s fresher?”. Drug Testing and Analysis.

The University of Washington. (2013) . Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute. “Potency of Marijuana”.

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