Marijuana is made from the flowering tops and leaves of the cannabis plant; these are collected, trimmed, dried, and then smoked in a pipe or as a cigarette. Many users smoke "blunts," named after the inexpensive blunt cigars from which they are made. Blunt cigars are approximately five inches long and can be purchased at any store that sells tobacco products. A marijuana blunt is made from the emptied cigar casing, which is then stuffed with marijuana or a marijuana/tobacco mixture. A blunt may contain as much marijuana as six regular marijuana cigarettes. In some cases, blunt users add crack cocaine or PCP to the mixture to make it more potent. These are sometimes called "turbos," "woolies," or "woolie blunts."
THC Content and Price
The active ingredient in marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol, THC, which is most concentrated in the flowering tops of the plants also known as colas or buds. The flowering tops of female plants have no seeds and produce sinsemilla (literally, "without seed"), a mixture with the highest THC content.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the THC content of commercial-grade marijuana averaged less than 2%. By 1998 potency had increased to 4.2% for commercial grade and 12.3% for sinsemilla. The most recent measurements conducted by the DEA (2001) put commercial THC content at 4.7% and sinsemilla at 9%. (See Table 6.12.) Improving marijuana potency may be the reason for the growing popularity of marijuana across most regions of the nation, as reported by ONDCP's Pulse Check.
TABLE 6.12
Marijuana price ranges and potency, 1998–2001
[National average in dollars]
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | |
| Commercial grade | ||||
| Pound | 250-3,200 | 100-6,000 | 100-4,000 | 70-1,200 |
| Ounce | 30-450 | 35-750 | 50-650 | 25-600 |
| THC content | 4.21% | 4.19% | 4.68% | 4.72% |
| Sinsemilla | ||||
| Pound | 850-6,000 | 500-7,000 | 900-8,000 | 600-4,000 |
| Ounce | 160-600 | 160-600 | 100-600 | 80-1,200 |
| THC content | 12.33% | 13.38% | 12.82% | 9.03% |
THC levels may rise even higher. Marijuana with a THC content of more than 20% has appeared in the Netherlands and Latin America (called "skunk," "skunkweed," or "nederweed"). Raids in Alaska have also uncovered marijuana with THC content well above 20%. This marijuana is grown by indoor cultivators who focus their efforts on hybridizing, cloning, and growing high-potency marijuana.
Prices have been moving downward, as shown in Table 6.12. A pound of commercial-grade marijuana sold for as little as $250 and for as much as $3,200 in 1998. The reported price range in 2001, as determined by the DEA, was from $70 to $1,200 a pound. Sinsemilla pricing, while generally higher, has also dropped. ONDCP's 2001 Pulse Check cited street level ounce prices in the range of $50 (Denver) to $1,200 (the high range for New York City) without specifying the type of marijuana purchased; the values agree with those determined by the DEA.
Foreign Production
Morocco is one of the largest producers of marijuana in the world. Virtually all of its production is exported to other North African nations and Europe. Traffickers in Nigeria and Kenya export large amounts of marijuana to Europe. In 1997 South Africa was one of the world's largest producers of marijuana. Although most of the marijuana produced in South Africa was for domestic or regional use, some was smuggled to Australia, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Brazil is also a major producer of marijuana, most of which is consumed in Brazil.
Most foreign marijuana available in the United States comes from Mexico, though the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) (part of the U.S. Department of Justice) states that significant quantities also originate in Colombia, Jamaica, and Canada. Though the amount arriving from Canada is smaller than from the other three
FIGURE 6.5
Cross-border marijuana distribution
Mexican marijuana enters the United States mainly by land, although some of it is smuggled in by private aircraft. Almost all Colombian marijuana is shipped by noncommercial vessels or is transshipped through northern Mexico. Most Jamaican marijuana arrives by cargo vessel, pleasure boat, or fishing boat. Most marijuana enters the United States in Florida, except the Mexican variety, which usually comes through Texas and California. (Figure 6.5.)
According to the ONDCP, between 1990 and 2001 Mexico eradicated on average 21,434 hectares of marijuana; annual eradication levels rose each year during this period, from 6,750 hectares in 1990 to 33,300 in 2001. During this same period, an average of 21,460 hectares were under cultivation, but this number decreased from 41,800 in 1990 to 11,500 in 2001. As authorities eradicate plants, growers engage in replanting, but in Mexico cultivation generally has been decreasing. In
Bolivia and Peru, land dedicated to growing marijuana also has been shrinking. Efforts to control marijuana trafficking by eradicating the plant have not been equally successful elsewhere. The ONDCP determined that cultivation increased dramatically in Colombia despite eradication efforts. In 2000, 183,000 hectares were under cultivation, up from 41,000 hectares in 1990. Eradication affected 900 hectares in 1990 and 47,000 in 2000. Large parts of Colombia are under the control of insurgents, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Army (ELN), and the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC). The drug trade is a source of revenues for these insurgent groups and Colombia, as a consequence, has become a major supplier of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana.
Domestic Production
Today, a large portion of the marijuana used in the United States is grown within its borders. Whereas U.S. agencies have data on marijuana cultivation in a number of foreign countries (Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, etc.), information about domestic production is not available. In its National Drug Threat Assessment 2004 (http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs8/8731/marijuana.htm), the National Drug Intelligence Center, an element of the U.S. Department of Justice, states: "The amount of marijuana produced domestically, although currently not quantified, is insufficient to meet the high demand for the drug in the United States. Consequently, drug markets throughout the country are supplied with marijuana produced domestically and in foreign source areas.… Domestic cannabis cultivation occurs throughout the country and ranges from a few plants grown for personal use to thousands mass-cultivated by organized criminal groups, from outdoor plots to indoor operations, and from computerized hydroponics to organic grows. Small-scale operations in cities and smaller towns and communities across the country produce marijuana, in immeasurable amounts, that helps fill demand in localized drug markets or within peer distribution networks. Larger amounts of marijuana sufficient to supply high-volume drug markets for state, regional, or national distribution are produced on private and public lands in many areas of the country as well." There is no doubt that significant amounts are being produced domestically; as the Pulse Check program reports, domestically cultivated marijuana is the most common kind available.
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