Controversy Surrounds CNN’s Cannabis Highlight
As part of CNN’s annual New Year’s Eve coverage, the network dispatched correspondent Randi Kaye to the Canni-bus in Denver, Colorado, a cannabis party bus filled with cannabis journalists and experts. The segment went viral. But not everyone is celebrating the liberation of cannabis.
We’ll see how this all works out for our country. More potheads, increase in cases of schizophrenia, psychosis, more impaired driving…as #BigWeed makes billions. https://t.co/JnFpf2Qssk
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) January 1, 2018
The night’s festivities were hosted by CNN anchor Anderson Cooper and Bravo host Andy Cohen. The New Year’s Eve coverage coincided with the launch of adult-use cannabis sales in California. Cooper said he was as surprised as everyone else about the coverage of cannabis while on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
CNN’s coverage of cannabis was met with swift criticism from a variety of Fox News correspondents. “ . . . Some are already using as an excuse to smoke the Hippie Lettuce in states where it’s not currently legal,” reported Fox News’ Brian Flood on Jan. 2. The report then included comments from The Blaze and The Drudge Report hosts.
“We’ll see how this all works out for our country,” tweeted Fox News host Laura Ingraham. “More potheads, increase in cases of schizophrenia, psychosis, more impaired driving…as #BigWeed makes billions.” But Ingraham’s tweet was followed with thousands of responses. “Before you know it, they’ll be jazz dancing,” tweeted a Twitter user in response to Ingraham’s tweet.
Other’s criticized the uncomfortable fact that millions of Americans are still wrongly incarcerated for cannabis-related crimes while cannabis becomes normalized.
The responses to the coverage were varied, with some in support and others in disgust. One thing is certain—CNN’s open coverage of cannabis consumption indicates America’s continually growing acceptance of the healing plant. Meanwhile, cannabis continues to be a bipartisan issue, with proponents coming from both sides of the aisle.
