Legal Commentary

DEA Hiding "Ditchweed" Stats

By Jeralyn

The Drug Enforcemnt Administration releases statistics every year on drug seizures. In past years, as I wrote here, up to 98% of the marijuana plants they seized was unusable, non psychotropic "ditchweed."

What's "ditchweed?"

[It's] a term the agency uses to define "wild, scattered marijuana plants [with] no evidence of planting, fertilizing, or tending." Unlike cultivated marijuana, feral hemp contains virtually no detectable levels of THC, the psychoactive component in cannabis, and does not contribute to the black market marijuana trade.

NORML senior policy analyst Paul Armentano has an article today questioning why the DEA, this year, is no longer publishing "ditchweed" stats.

Good question.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on August 11, 2008 (boomark / email).