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Guest 18340
This atricle was written by Florida attorney general Bill McCollum. Clearly he has no fuqing clue 
Apparently California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was only joking when he recently said marijuana "is not a drug. It's a leaf." I certainly hope so. Statistics show marijuana is the most popular illegal drug in America, with more than half of our young adults between the ages of 19 to 28 saying they have used it. But today's marijuana is no Woodstock rerun; it's potent and dangerous.
The most alarming aspect of marijuana's resurgence is the much greater potency of today's plant, particularly the hydroponic variety. In the 1960s and '70s, the average THC content (THC produces the high and causes physiological problems) in marijuana was approximately 4 percent. The THC level in the hydroponic marijuana grown today in Florida has tested up to 30 percent, and the level continues to rise through plant cloning by growers. This increase in potency has not only increased the dangerous physical effects of the drug, but also the addictive nature of marijuana use. Experts believe that the rate of addiction among daily marijuana users is now higher than that among daily alcohol drinkers.
The increase in the drug's potency has also caused marijuana's market value to skyrocket. Hydroponic marijuana in some areas actually trades ounce for ounce with cocaine. The drug is so lucrative that grow houses are popping up in some of the most affluent neighborhoods in the state. These "Marijuana McMansions" are home to multimillion-dollar growing operations. Grow houses primarily specializing in hydroponic marijuana have been detected in 41 of Florida's 67 counties, and Florida had the second-highest number of grow-house seizures in the country in 2006.
One such operation was recently discovered and shut down in North Florida, where an organized ring of individuals had been using seven houses to grow and distribute large quantities of marijuana. These grow houses produced 100 pounds of marijuana per month, and traffickers were netting profits of nearly a half-million dollars a year. The Attorney General's Office of Statewide Prosecution is prosecuting this case and aggressively working with law enforcement to pursue other operations throughout the state.
As the profit incentives increase for trafficking hydroponic marijuana, the risks to our children and fellow citizens also increase. Grow houses are often the targets of other violent crimes, including home invasions and robberies carried out by rival criminal groups, as the plants alone are worth tens of thousands of dollars. Marijuana is no longer grown and traded by amateurs -- it is being trafficked by organized and dangerous rings of criminals who are intent upon bringing this poison into our communities and neighborhoods.
Taking this threat seriously, our state must pass tougher laws to crack down on these sophisticated growing operations. I am supporting legislation sponsored by Sen. Steve Oelrich of Gainesville and Rep. Nick Thompson of Fort Myers that would lower from 300 plants to 25 plants the standard for creating a presumption that a person is intending to distribute for profit. The bill also would create a new penalty for growers who own a house for the purpose of cultivating marijuana, as well as a new penalty for people who live in or are the caretakers of marijuana grow houses.
It is our responsibility not only to educate our citizens, especially those who are younger and may be more susceptible to drug use, about highly potent marijuana, but also to implement new strategies for curbing the spread of this new and dangerous threat.
Bill McCollum is Florida's attorney general. He wrote this commentary for the Orlando Sentinel.
More articles
Copyright © 2007,
Apparently California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was only joking when he recently said marijuana "is not a drug. It's a leaf." I certainly hope so. Statistics show marijuana is the most popular illegal drug in America, with more than half of our young adults between the ages of 19 to 28 saying they have used it. But today's marijuana is no Woodstock rerun; it's potent and dangerous.
The most alarming aspect of marijuana's resurgence is the much greater potency of today's plant, particularly the hydroponic variety. In the 1960s and '70s, the average THC content (THC produces the high and causes physiological problems) in marijuana was approximately 4 percent. The THC level in the hydroponic marijuana grown today in Florida has tested up to 30 percent, and the level continues to rise through plant cloning by growers. This increase in potency has not only increased the dangerous physical effects of the drug, but also the addictive nature of marijuana use. Experts believe that the rate of addiction among daily marijuana users is now higher than that among daily alcohol drinkers.
The increase in the drug's potency has also caused marijuana's market value to skyrocket. Hydroponic marijuana in some areas actually trades ounce for ounce with cocaine. The drug is so lucrative that grow houses are popping up in some of the most affluent neighborhoods in the state. These "Marijuana McMansions" are home to multimillion-dollar growing operations. Grow houses primarily specializing in hydroponic marijuana have been detected in 41 of Florida's 67 counties, and Florida had the second-highest number of grow-house seizures in the country in 2006.
One such operation was recently discovered and shut down in North Florida, where an organized ring of individuals had been using seven houses to grow and distribute large quantities of marijuana. These grow houses produced 100 pounds of marijuana per month, and traffickers were netting profits of nearly a half-million dollars a year. The Attorney General's Office of Statewide Prosecution is prosecuting this case and aggressively working with law enforcement to pursue other operations throughout the state.
As the profit incentives increase for trafficking hydroponic marijuana, the risks to our children and fellow citizens also increase. Grow houses are often the targets of other violent crimes, including home invasions and robberies carried out by rival criminal groups, as the plants alone are worth tens of thousands of dollars. Marijuana is no longer grown and traded by amateurs -- it is being trafficked by organized and dangerous rings of criminals who are intent upon bringing this poison into our communities and neighborhoods.
Taking this threat seriously, our state must pass tougher laws to crack down on these sophisticated growing operations. I am supporting legislation sponsored by Sen. Steve Oelrich of Gainesville and Rep. Nick Thompson of Fort Myers that would lower from 300 plants to 25 plants the standard for creating a presumption that a person is intending to distribute for profit. The bill also would create a new penalty for growers who own a house for the purpose of cultivating marijuana, as well as a new penalty for people who live in or are the caretakers of marijuana grow houses.
It is our responsibility not only to educate our citizens, especially those who are younger and may be more susceptible to drug use, about highly potent marijuana, but also to implement new strategies for curbing the spread of this new and dangerous threat.
Bill McCollum is Florida's attorney general. He wrote this commentary for the Orlando Sentinel.
More articles
Copyright © 2007,
