MARIJUANA CHEMISTRY Genetics, Processing & Potency by Michael StarksIntroduction to Second Edition Reviewing the work on the botany and chemistry of mari- juana which has appeared in the twelve years since the publication of the first edition of this work is both gratifying and dismaying. Itis gratifying in that the conclusions reached earlier are in need of no significant revision and dismaying in that they have been largely ignored. Itis amazing that so little work has been done on such a fundamental issue as the effect of cannabidiol on the high and other actions of THC and that when studies on the high finally appeared they were done by Brazilians! Probably the red tape involved in doing research on humans with psychedelics is a major barrier, I am re- minded of the failure of nearly thirty years of research to determine the influence of iso-LSD on the LSD experience. Likewise, only a few of the hundreds of THC and LSD homologs and analogs have been adequately tested for psy- choactivity. Only a trickle of work has appeared on the promising marijuana clones. Also, no attempt seems to have been made to reinstate hemp fiber as a significant source of paper, rope and cloth, in spite of the beautiful examples ofhemp and hemp-cotton cloth still available from Japan. The history and use of hemp fiber has hardly been touched upon in the modern English literature and all the great classic works in other languages remain untranslated. Finally, my suggestions on the necessity of measuring the total cannabi- noid content of plants in order to eliminate the spurious fluctuations due to other constituents have gone unheeded. Clearly, there remains a considerable amount of work for researchers. Ihave chosen to place the new material as an addendum so as to enable the many readers of the first edition to immedi- ately acquaint themselves with the progress in the field. Michael Starks Berkeley, California January, 1990