CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta made headlines last year when he reversed his stand on medical marijuana and apologized in a CNN documentary.
He decided to venture back into the subject for another hour, stating in an essay that he is "doubling down" on his support of cannabis for medical purposes. (You can read it here.)He has another special on the subject at 10 p.m. Tuesday.
"We had an hour the first time, which is a lot of time in television news," Gupta said in an interview last week. "But there are so many story lines. There were a lot of things we couldn't fit into the first documentary. We needed another hour. We lobbied the bosses and got the time."
This hour, he delves deeper into the science of medical marijuana and why it works in relieving pain and seizures. He received access to scientists and labs around the world studying the issue. What he has seen has convinced him more than ever that this is something that works. He also notes how quickly people's acceptance of marijuana has shifted - including his own.
Recently, the Georgia House passed a medical marijuana bill. "When the legislation was first introduced," Gupta said, "nobody thought it would pass. But it passed 171 to 4. This is reflective of the country as a whole. It's quite remarkable."
Yet marijuana is still deemed a schedule 1 controlled substance at a federal level, meaning it's a considered a dangerous substance with no medical benefit. "Even the most ardent critics recognize this is not true," he said. "There needs to be political change. That would do a lot for patients and families and researchers. It's hard to research an illegal substance."
That's why he travels to England, Israel and Amsterdam to find cutting-edge research on the subject. He highlights a pharmaceutical company creating medicine using the entire marijuana plant extract that has been approved in 25 countries (but not the United States.)
The lack of legality of the substance also means folks who get medical marijuana in a state like Colorado can't cross state lines because that could be deemed drug trafficking. "That's a real problem," he said. "Patients become refugees in Colorado."
Gupta, being a neuroscientist at heart, doesn't delve into recreational use in this special. He stuck to the medical aspects. "We have a much more thorough picture of what's happening with medical marijuana" today vs. just a few years ago, he said.
Since Jeff Zucker came aboard as president in January, 2013, Gupta has felt encouraged. "He's a very engaged guy," Gupta said. "He's all over the place. He's given great advice. He's interested in health, which goes back to the 'Today' show. It's been good for us in the health and medical unit and the types of stories we get to tell."
Gupta's next project may have to do with the alarming growth in auto-immune diseases such as MS and crohn's disease and what sort of environmental factors may be causing this.
TV preview
"Weed 2: Cannabis Madness. Sanjay Gupta Reports," 10 p.m., Tuesday, March 11, CNN
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