Dr. Sanjay Gupta made a "shocking" announcement this week leading up to his CNN special this weekend. He wrote an essay called, "Why I Changed My Mind On Weed." Four years ago, he wrote an article for Time Magazine entitled, "Why I Would Vote No On Pot."
What's different now? He smoked marijuana (really). He looked at the medical research, especially for chronic pain and cancer patients. And, he declared that all of us have been "systematically misled" on marijuana. Really? Have we been?
Media analysis of this announcement includes articles entitled, "Sanjay Gupta Rejects Everything Sanjay Gupta Once Said About Marijuana," and "Is CNN's Sanjay Gupta Right About Weed." The Atlantic Wire article does a nice job of tracing his evolving position over the past few years.
It is not news that a physician supports medical marijuana. I also agree with some of the research on THC use for cancer and chronic pain patients. However, if you read his essay carefully, he says nothing about recreational use of marijuana.
What will be news is the "anytime, anywhere, any condition" marijuana supporters will use this announcement to advance their recreational marijuana position. Will Dr. Gupta go along with this, too? Wait a few years. He may change his mind again for a future CNN special...