The Evolution of Cannabis Journalism in Mainstream Culture

Ophelia Noor

There was a time when any
news agency which ran a story about cannabis could lose readers. The Los Angeles Times or the New Yorker were allowed to
condemn cannabis, but anything positive was too controversial. Now mainstream
journalism can’t go a news cycle without mentioning the plant. Pioneer
publications like High Times and CULTURE Magazine were apparently
so prophetic they’ve made their peers green with envy.

Back in 1996, Newsweek
ran an article entitled “The Prime Evil Forest” describing the damnations of
the infamous “Emerald Triangle,” an area in northern California where the
locals grow cannabis like the Amish grow corn. Whereas “The Prime Evil Forest”
(which sounds like the title of an environmental horror flick) equates the
underground cannabis industry to methamphetamine production and heroin
smuggling, Newsweek’s recent article, “Cannabis More than 100 Times
Safer than Alcohol, Study Finds,” makes it seem safer than broccoli. Every
month since then, the publication has printed an article about cannabis.

The Huffington Post has always been a little wacky in comparison to more
mainstream journalism entities that exist in contemporary culture. “Stoned
Drivers At Far Lower Risk Of Crash Than Drunken Drivers” practically makes it
seem like you have to be high to ride in your car down the freeway.

“A government study on impaired driving released last
week found that drivers who had used marijuana were at a far lower risk of
getting into a car accident than drivers who had used alcohol,” the first paragraph states.

Their website now has an
entire section devoted to the subject, with the elegant yet eye-catching title,
“MARIJUANA.”

CNN used to be the place to
go to if you wanted to find out how ugly and awful cannabis was on a
semi-regular basis. Their Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, used
to treat cannabis users with the same level of disrespect every prime time news
agency did. Then one day he wrote an article entitled “Why I Changed My Mind on
Weed,” which made cannabis seem like the answer to many of the problems that Americans
experience, be it medical or economical.

Since then, Dr. Gupta hasn’t
capitulated, with articles like “Gupta: ‘I Am Doubling Down’ on Medical Marijuana,”
making the plant seem even more benevolent with each issue. Even the
photographs for cannabis have changed, featuring blossoming verdant leaves
proudly reaching up to the majestic sky while sunlight flickers through the
lush foliage.

MSNBC now has a regular
section entitled “LEGAL POT” where continual coverage of the political battle
to legalize cannabis on both a state and federal level is juxtaposed with
articles on how awful the stuff can be. “Heavy Teen Pot Use Linked to Weaker
Memories” makes cannabis seem like brain poison, whereas “While House Votes to
Allow Marijuana-Related Banking” indicates that the color of money is what
turns politicians, whether red or blue, into supporters.

If you are jaded with the
usual haters the mainstream press is heir to, The New York Times is for
you. In addition to an editorial entitled, “Repeal Prohibition, Again,” the
newspaper sternly says that the federal government should stop banning
cannabis. They’ve even gone so far as to run an advertisement for Leafly.com, as an answer to the pains
and aches associated with working out.

This is a good thing for
suppliers, medical cannabis patients, caregivers, and everyone in between. If
the mainstream media embraces the plant for its curative properties and
preventative qualities, maybe the federal government will cease their verdurous
legal assault upon a budding locally-grown industry that’s becoming as American
as mom’s apple pie every day.