CNN Marijuana Documentaries Are Critical in Changing Public Perceptions

The influence of the many CNN marijuana documentaries and articles cannot be underestimated. For starters, CNN is one of the world’s largest media houses, and its place in the industry comes with much authority not only in news coverage but also in health-related matters.

In fact, the media house’s website has remained for close to two decades one of the richest sources of health information for both ordinary people and experts. Millions around the world hold medical information published by CNN in very high esteem.

Their authority on the health content they publish, in all formats and channels, is bolstered by the caliber of the journalists behind them. Not only do they show the ability to articulate, but they also have in-depth knowledge of the subject matter.

CNN Marijuana Documentary with Sanjay Gupta

A good example of this is CNN’s Emmy award-winning chief medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta, M.D. Apart from working for CNN, he is an assistant professor of neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine and associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.

These credentials give him the necessary impetus to delve into issues of health and, in particular, the effect of marijuana on the human brain; marijuana’s compounds mainly react with the body through brain tissues. In addition, most of the conditions that marijuana may potentially treat are neurological.

Therefore, when CNN endorses marijuana as a high-potential treatment for many medical conditions afflicting millions of Americans, with the vast medical knowledge and experience at their disposal, it is very difficult for anyone to disregard.

This is the exact reason it became a major development in the marijuana debate when, in August 2013, Sanjay Gupta, M.D apologized for his long stand against medical marijuana through an article published by CNN.

In this article, he acknowledged that marijuana is a possible treatment for conditions like epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, cancer and arthritis. This change of position was influenced by research he and his CNN team were doing for a documentary that aired later that month.

This was just four years after he had passionately penned an anti-marijuana legalization article titled ‘Why I Would Vote No On Pot,’ which was also published by Time Magazine on January. 8, 2009. In this previous article, Sanjay Gupta was trying to show voters why they should vote no when the question of marijuana legalization or decriminalization is put before them.

In the “Weed” documentary that CNN aired in late 2013, Sanjay Gupta, M.D looked at the background of marijuana laws and research carried out by different bodies on the effectiveness of marijuana to treat different illnesses. The documentary also told stories of families that have had marijuana treat their loved ones of various conditions.

This was followed by “Weed 2” in March, 2014, which started where the previous one stopped by looking at what other countries are doing in regard to tapping into the potential healing powers of the marijuana plant.

What makes CNN marijuana documentaries and articles critical in changing perceptions is the authority they possess and the vast knowledge and experience they have accumulated on health matters.