Legalizing marijuana and the new science of weed

Marijuana buds are often two to three times as potent as they were 30 years ago.

More than a year into Colorado's experiment legalizing marijuana, labs testing the plants are able for the first time to take stock of the drug's potency and contaminants—and openly paint a picture of what's in today's weed. At the 249th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), one such lab will present trends—and some surprises—that its preliminary testing has revealed about the marijuana now on the market.

Three major patterns have emerged over the past few months since Andy LaFrate, Ph.D., and his lab began testing samples. Those patterns concern potency, amounts of a substance called CBD and contaminants in the products.

"As far as potency goes, it's been surprising how strong a lot of the marijuana is," LaFrate says. "We've seen potency values close to 30...

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