Blog 9, What If?

What if scientists had greater control over the traits plants exhibit? I decided to write about this topic because of an article I found while doing some research for another paper. The article talked about Marijuana and the way it has changed due to selective breeding by street dealers.
The legality of the usage of marijuana in the United States is becoming a hot topic. Many people, including several doctors, want it legalized for medicinal use. This is mostly because of it’s effects on cancer patients; the THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana allows them to cope with the pain and keep food down. Others want it legalized for recreational use, for obvious reasons. While other still want it kept illegal completely. A recent study may help to tip the scale one way or the other.
Studies have shown that marijuana use affects some people’s mental health later in life; it has been shown to lead to schizophrenia. This is only seen in a small number of people, but it is still a big deal. This psychosis inductive property is often misconstrued and used by anti-pot groups as propaganda for keeping it illegal. Amanda Feilding at Oxford's Beckley Foundation and Paul Morrison at London's Institute of Psychiatry did some experiments to try to find the cause of this mental change. They did numerous experiments on street grade pot and made an interesting discovery.
Since it was made illegal, marijuana has been sold on the streets. Since it has been sold on the streets, it has been bred for potency of THC. From this stems the problem. When the potency of THC went up, the concentration of cannabidol(CBD) went down. The CBD acted as a balance for many of THC’s psychoactive effects. This means that the street breeders not only made it stronger but also more dangerous. They seem to have upset a balance inside of the plant though unnatural selection. (continued on Blog 10)