Thursday, March 6, 2014

Sanjay Gupta 'Doubles Down' On Support For Medical Marijuana

Although it has been about eight months since Sanjay Gupta last wrote about his support for medical marijuana -- when he apologized for misleading the public on weed -- it doesn't mean that he's backing down on weed. Instead, he says it's the opposite; he's "doubling down" on medical pot.



CNN's chief medical correspondent wrote in an op-ed for CNN Wednesday that since the cable news giant's "Weed" documentary aired last August, he has continued to travel the world meeting with hundreds of patients and scientists. He's even more supportive of medical marijuana than he was before.



"I am more convinced than ever that it is irresponsible to not provide the best care we can, care that often may involve marijuana," Gupta wrote. "I am not backing down on medical marijuana; I am doubling down."



Before Gupta made his latest announcement about his support for medical marijuana, he was approached by Kevin Sabet of Project SAM, an anti-legalization group, about his position on marijuana.



"We had a productive conversation," Sabet told The Huffington Post.



"Yes, he is more optimistic than I on smoked marijuana, but that is a technical difference, really," Sabet added. "We both feel that cannabinoids can be medicine. I just want them to be in standardized doses and he seems to be okay with smoked versions, which is contrary to most other medical opinion."



Twenty states, including the District of Columbia, have legalized medical marijuana, but the drug remains illegal under federal law and classified as a Schedule I substance, which the federal government considers to be of "the most dangerous" variety "with no currently accepted medical use."



"Neither of those statements has ever been factual," Gupta wrote in the op-ed.



Next week, CNN will premiere Gupta's second installment of their "Weed" documentary, called "Cannabis Madness" where Gupta will unpack these ideas from his op-ed further and take a closer look at the politics behind legal weed.



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