Cannabis Psychosis Claims Point to Larger Issue
Rolling Stone Calls Out Fox News about Cannabis Psychosis Misinformation – LPC
Rolling Stone magazine recently called out Fox News for spreading misinformation about cannabis psychosis. The article pointed out that Fox News’ position that cannabis is “causing people to go crazy and shoot a bunch of people” “extremely dubious”.
Fox News’ position apparently came from twisting the words of Washington, DC Police Chief Robert Contee. In a press conference on July 23, he mentioned cannabis was a contributor to crime in the city.
“We have taken on a mindset that marijuana is not really a big issue in our city,” Contee said. “I can tell you that marijuana undoubtedly is connected to violent crime in our city.”
Of course, this is likely true. When cannabis is illegal, the illegal market is often run by criminal organizations. It would be strange if cannabis wasn’t connected to violent crime in a city the size of Washington.
But Fox News, either by mistake or by design, spun that for its viewers to mean that people were robbing others to get money to buy more cannabis. Morning show commentators also mentioned cannabis psychosis as one of the driving issues behind violent crime. (You can watch a clip of the Fox News morning show talk about cannabis psychosis on Twitter here.)
“Cannabis Psychosis” Misinformation Another Form of Cannabis Stigma – LPC
Misinformation in general is a problem in itself in the media today. In this case, Fox News’ claims of cannabis psychosis also points to the issues with cannabis stigma – not to mention issues surrounding cannabis and racism. It also signals were much of the United States is in terms of legalizing cannabis federally.
The news commentators talked with disgust about normalizing cannabis use. But, for a news show, there was little substance to what they were saying. In fact, it could simply be a matter of pandering to the audience rather than trying to inform them. When groups or media outlets begin politicizing an issue, the truth is almost always going to be skewed.
“This is not an issue of ‘pot usage’. It’s an issue of the discrepancy between local and national laws surrounding cannabis,” Rolling Stone’s Ryan Bort wrote. “It’s legal to possess up to two ounces of cannabis in DC, but it’s still illegal to sell it because of a congressional rider blocking the establishment of a commercial market. The result is a robust black market. So while, as Contee says, there’s very little accountability for dealers walking around with less than two ounces of cannabis, there’s also very little accountability for those robbing these dealers who… are unable to go to the police.”
Cannabis Psychosis Isn’t the Problem; Illegal Cannabis Is – LPC
The Rolling Stone article stops short of showing that legalizing cannabis reduces crime. It mentions that some states where cannabis is legal still has a robust illegal cannabis market. But, unsurprisingly for a US news outlet, there is no mention of Canada and our success with legalizing cannabis. (There is also a microcosm of the US problem within Canada. Mississauga, which does not have any legal cannabis outlets, has 100-150 illegal cannabis outlets.)
Cannabis psychosis isn’t the problem. It isn’t even a problem. But illegal cannabis is. The misinformation spread by mainstream media isn’t going to help matters. The US will have to overcome misinformation, cannabis stigma, and the whole notion of “cannabis psychosis” before it legalizes cannabis federally.
Read the Whole Rolling Stone Article
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