The media’s view of cannabis has changed

Over the centuries, people have depicted facets of everyday life in our artistic expressions. Snapshots of public opinion at the time of its creation can be gleaned from the penny plays and murals of the past.

A good barometer of public opinion can be seen in the various forms of media available to us in today’s world. Just as the advancement of technology has dramatically improved the viewing experience, content has also changed over time to reflect current public opinion on issues. Although there is not unanimous support for the legalization of cannabis, representation in the mainstream media has increased with the overall goal of educating the public about the positive effects of cannabis use. Even in an area reporting on cannabis legalization, biases arise that affect the overall impact of the article.

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The timeline for general public opinion on cannabis legalization can be traced back to Richard Nixon’s successful “War on Drugs.” This campaign regulated cannabis as a Schedule I drug and was so effective in its terror tactics that by 1989, 64% of Americans viewed drug abuse as the country’s biggest problem, up from just 2-6%.

Over the past three decades, there has been a significant shift in attitudes toward cannabis due to a variety of interrelated factors. After comparing it with modern disasters, the risk of cannabis was reassessed. Widespread public skepticism about painkillers after opioid epidemics devastated communities across the country, potential financial opportunities presented by the cannabis business, and the potential for many other unknown medical benefits of medical cannabis have all contributed to the legalization of cannabis.

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As with many other hotly debated topics, there is a wealth of misinformation on all sides of the argument; In the cannabis industry in particular, there is a strong emphasis on education to combat resistance to legalization.

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In a 2019 study titled “How and why have attitudes toward cannabis legalization changed so much?” Felson et al. conducted the first comprehensive and empirically based study to determine why and how public opinion on cannabis legalization was changing. Their findings showed that American public opinion had noticeably counteracted more liberal views due to “a decline in religious affiliation, a decline in punitive measures, and a shift in media framing.”

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Although there appears to be general public support for the legalization of cannabis, this is not the case everywhere. In traditional media sources such as news channels and newspapers, the portrayal of cannabis in non-national media can determine an area’s general attitude toward legalization.

The portrayal of cannabis legalization in the media mainly depends on the target group. By and large, the mainstream media takes an educational and investigative approach to cannabis and cannabis legalization.