Dr. Sanjay Gupta Introduces Weed3

CNN Chief Medical Correspondent and internationally-know physician Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports that the upcoming network airing of the new Weed 3: The Marijuana Revolution will show Americans that the national mood on medical marijuana is changing. “Even the President is talking about it. It feels like there’s something happening, it feels like there’s real movement and momentum on medical marijuana,” Dr. Gupta told host Steve Greene of The Full Melt Radio Show during the April 16 broadcast.

Gupta’s first Weed program was an international sensation and catapulted Dr. Gupta into the thick of the debate regarding the medical and societal value of cannabis. “The first documentary sort of looked at what had happened in the past, the second looked at the current state of affairs at the time, and the third one is sort of looking toward the future. What’s this medicinal marijuana revolution going to feel like, look like? What is happening here?” Gupta explained.

Some of the people featured in past episodes of Weed have become household names in much of the country, including Charlotte Figi, the child whose use of medical marijuana eased the seizure she suffered from Dravet syndrome. Weed 3 will feature a new cast of scientists, Senators and patients.

“Besides hearing from the senators who have now proposed the most audacious legislation, besides hearing from the President, you are also going to meet… the scientists that have been studying it. One of the patients profiled is a veteran and investment banker who suffers from PTSD,” Gupta said.

He described a failed treatment program that almost cost him his life. “He nearly died trying to get better,” Gupta said “He turns to cannabis… He is a completely changed man.”

He also spoke of a “stay-at-home mom with kids who also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder — a churchgoing, homeschooled gal who never thought about marijuana. She’s tried it for the first time in October of 2014, and you’re going to see the impact it’s made on her life.”

The previous Weed programs have delivered a healthy dose of science intermixed with stories of real people. This latest episode in the series follows that pattern. “You’re going to learn about… medical marijuana, what it does in the body,” Dr. Gupta assured Greene.

Weed 3 is subtitled “The Marijuana Revolution.” Greene asked Dr. Gupta about the name.

“I say there’s a revolution going on now because there are a lot of studies that are getting approved,” he answered. “There were only 16 studies that had been approved and had received marijuana from NIDA and now there are that many being approved over the last year alone. It’s really starting to change.”

The revolution has advanced the dialog on medical marijuana, Dr. Gupta explained. “You’re getting different levels of researchers, you are getting different levels of support, you are getting bipartisan legislation on the floor of the senate, and even the President is talking about it. It feels like there’s something happening, it feels like there’s real movement and momentum on medical marijuana.”

Citing polling data that indicates 75 percent or more of Americans favor the medicinal use of marijuana, Dr. Gupta said, “I think the support runs deeper than you might think, when looking at America as a whole.”