Laura Ingraham blames Weed for gun violence

Scare-mongering about cannabis reached a new level on cable news last week.

Last Tuesday, in a feature on “The Ingraham Angle” on Fox News, political commentator Laura Ingraham blamed “pot psychosis” for the rise in mass shootings due to widespread legalization. The Fox News pundit doubled down on her pot psychosis theory the next night.

While most people disagree on whether gun violence is a gun control issue or a mental health issue, Ingraham blames cannabis instead.

Ingraham hailed Russell Kamer, MD, medical director of Partners in Safety, a drug testing organization, to question why people aren’t “talking more about the connection between pot psychosis and violent behavior.” You can watch a clip of the entire segment here.

“What we find in studies [is that] It is very clear that high-potency marijuana use is strongly associated with the development of psychosis,” said Dr. camera.

“My colleagues in Colorado,” Kamer continued, “are sounding the alarm because it was one of the first states to legalize. It’s an almost daily occurrence for children to show up in the emergency room with an active cannabis-induced psychosis.”

Ingraham delved into her theory.

“The medical community is well aware of this. Still, there’s a feeling that the billions of dollars at stake are more important than our children,” Ingraham said. “And what is happening right now with young men in the United States who are frequent users of this potent THC that is now found in marijuana products legally sold in pharmacies in the United States. I mean, this requires at least a serious national conversation.”

The Daily Beast reports that Ingraham claimed the 18-year-old gunman who killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Texas was originally reported “was a user,” but that the New York Times broke that tidbit “mysteriously” removed from their coverage.

“Reefer Madness” started trending on Twitter the same night after the episode. “The 1930s were calling; They want their reefer madness propaganda back,” one person tweeted. “Didn’t think anyone would ever seriously turn to that bulls**** again…” another person tweeted. “But it’s funny to watch someone try.”

Good god, Laura Ingraham thinks Reefer Madness is responsible for gun violence.

WTF kinda weed DOES YOU smoke?

– BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) June 1, 2022

Ingraham’s point is based on the idea that cannabis increases violent behavior.

But the New York Times reports that cannabis use has been shown to make people less, not more, violent. Some of these ideas can be traced back to a single source. Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson led a piece inspired by a New York Post op-ed reporting on the list of mass shooters by an anti-pot lobby group that claimed they were avid cannabis users. But the allegation of a link to violence was dismissed by Politifact. Carlson frequently hosts well-known anti-pot author Alex Berenson to demystify the “dangers” of weed, vaccines, and other topics.

The gun weed “connection” has been made before. Sue Klebold, mother of Dylan Klebold, one of Columbine’s two shooters, mentioned how it turned into a spectacle when cops found a tiny patch of grass in the shooter’s brother’s room. Byron Klebold, who was not involved in any shooting, just a shooter’s brother, had to undergo counseling about his weed “addiction.” Marilyn Manson and others were also frequently blamed for Columbine.

The very next evening, Ingraham returned to ask if weed was responsible for the “horrific carnage” taking place in schools and public spaces across America.

“In light of the horrific carnage here from other tragedies we already know about where high-potency cannabis may have played a role, it’s important that Americans have more answers. We deserve to know the truth about this multi-billion dollar and growing industry, how it impacts our young people, our working-age population and even our military readiness.”

Instead of watching highly biased cable news programs, try reading peer-reviewed studies on the real dangers and safety of cannabis.