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Date Published: 16/05/2022

ARCHIVED - Increase in marijuana pollen points to growth of illegal crops in Murcia Region

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

A “significant increase” in pollen was registered in Cartagena, Lorca and Murcia

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Increase in marijuana pollen points to growth of illegal crops in Murcia Region

A study of the amount of cannabis pollen in the Murcian air has detected a “significant increase” of the illegal substance in recent years, indicating the number of illicit crops in the Region has gone from a “minor” problem to a more worrying one in the last few years.

A single flower can release 350,000 grains of pollen into the atmosphere and researchers from the Polytechnic University of Cartagena have been tracking this substance for decades to establish the concentrations and origin of cannabis in the cities of Cartagena, Murcia and Lorca.

The scientists have discovered that only a small amount of the particles come from North Africa, a major marijuana growing area, while the majority appears to be grown locally, a fact that is supported by the increase in the number of illegal plantations dismantled in the Region since 2017.

In recent years, the authorities have perceived a notable change in the production system for cannabis, with a rise in its cultivation in Spain and a lower dependency on hashish produced abroad.

“The concentrations registered in the three cities of the Region of Murcia increased proportionally between 2017 and 2020,” one of the researchers pointed out.

Of the three, Lorca and Cartagena stood out, registering more than 80 grains of pollen per cubic metre in the air in 2020, while Murcia reached a peak of 66. This is a significant jump considering the cities recorded counts of between 19 and 27 grains three years earlier.

The main use of cannabis is, of course, as a hallucinogenic drug, but an increase of pollen concentrations in the air can cause problems for allergy sufferers.

However, the researchers have concluded that the levels of pollen collected thus far "are not high enough" to cause discomfort to those who may suffer from allergies, "although we cannot ignore that those who live very close to one of these plantations may have symptoms."

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