Today’s pot is more potent, less therapeutic

Medicinal qualities may be up in smoke thanks to years of cross-breeding

Compared with marijuana grown 30 years ago, modern weed contains more THC, the chemical that gives pot its psychoactive effects, and less CBD, the compound thought to have therapeutic potential, a new analysis suggests.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Wikimedia Commons

By Beth Mole

March 24, 2015 at 12:32 pm

DENVER – In the search for a stronger buzz, marijuana breeders may have inadvertently ditched the healing properties of weed, researchers reported March 23 at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society.

Marijuana now legally sold in Colorado contains around three times as much tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive component of pot, as did plants grown 30 years ago, researchers say. But current varieties also have little to no cannabidiol, or CBD, the component thought to have therapeutic potential, including neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties.

Researchers suspect that the high-flying THC levels and drop in CBD occurred gradually as growers cross-bred plants to make a more mind-bending herb.