You go Amsterdam! =)

And the Award for the Most Potent Pot Goes To...

Monday, June 28, 2004 9:49 a.m. ET

LISBON (Reuters) - Cannabis in the Netherlands is almost twice as strong as in the rest of the European Union, where the drug's potency has remained stable, the EU drugs agency said on Friday.

Politicians' worries over the health risks of stronger cannabis prompted the Lisbon-based European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction to examine marijuana and hashish available in the bloc.

"Today's report shows that effective potency of cannabis in nearly all EU countries has remained quite stable for many years," the center said.

The potency of cannabis in most EU countries has remained at about six to eight percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active ingredient.

The only exception was in the Netherlands, where potency had reached 16 percent by 2001-02, mostly because of supplies of intensively produced home-grown cannabis.

However, this did not affect the EU average since most cannabis consumed there was produced outside the bloc.