This is worth talking about because it shows that believing marijuana is only a road to madness and violence is still very prevalent in the mainstream.
Laura Ingraham, in her show last week, brought weed into the conversation of mass shootings in the US. Now, the first thought is that she’s trying to evade the issue of guns by pivoting the discussion to something else. But it’s important to see how the fear around marijuana can grow into a stance like this one.
Making the claim that marijuana had turned the shooter psychotic is a rather insane one, but the link between marijuana and psychosis is not necessarily a dead end. Studies have shown a link, although not nearly enough have been done to act upon.
It’s worth noting that legal marijuana is an effective way to prevent teenagers from smoking considering there’s an age limit of 21. It’s not fool-proof of course, just as alcohol isn’t, but it’s much better than a dealer selling to anyone interested.
There’s no room for nuance in a show like this, and trying to combat the talking points or at least try to explain that it’s way more complicated than she’s portraying the issue, is mostly a fool’s errand. Still, seeing this used in a political stance could be a sign that we’ll be seeing more of it in the future.
