[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 15031-15032]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       HIGH POTENCY MARIJUANA SENTENCING ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2009

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                         HON. MARK STEVEN KIRK

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 12, 2009

  Mr. KIRK. Madam Speaker, popular culture often romanticizes casual 
marijuana use, and those who warn that marijuana is a ``gateway drug'' 
that can lead to use of other, harder drugs are ridiculed as being out 
of the mainstream. The reality is that marijuana today is vastly 
different than the marijuana that was prevalent in the '60s. According 
to the National Drug Intelligence Center, the average THC content of 
seized marijuana was less than 4 percent in the early 1990s. By 2007 
that level rose to nearly 10 percent.
  Local police in my district are now reporting a new threat from 
``Kush,'' street slang for a strain of highly potent marijuana with a 
THC content of at least 20 percent. The rise of Kush mirrors the 
increasing trend of high-THC marijuana, which has become more 
accessible with the rise of hydroponics. Drug growers are able to 
strictly control light, temperature and humidity and can cross-breed to 
maximize THC content. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, 
Kush has been known to sell for as high as $600 per ounce--creating the 
same profit potential as crack cocaine.
  Today I am introducing legislation to bring federal penalties for 
trafficking high-potency

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marijuana in line with penalties for cocaine, heroin, and hashish, all 
of which have similar retail prices on the street. The gangs and 
cartels trafficking Kush are the same trafficking cocaine and heroin, 
and the profits they realize represent an equal danger to the public. 
In my view, the penalties for trafficking this dangerous drug should 
also be equalized.

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