Sanjay Gupta's Weed Reversal Reveals Failing Propaganda War

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One can only speculate as to the timing of Sanjay Gupta's supposed realization that cannabis is actually good for your health. As many people have come to realize, the mainstream media, which of course includes CNN, has turned into a mouth-piece of the government establishment: going so far as getting family members of media executives to be employed by the White House. The revolving door can also be seen going the other way with multiple examples similar to Mike Huckabee going from presidential candidate to news anchor and CNN reporter Dana Bash's marriage to Jeremy Bash, Leon Panetta's Chief of Staff.

One thing we do know as fact is that the 'War on Drugs' is a cause supported by both establishment parties, which could also explain why the program is perpetuated by both the "conservative" and "liberal" media. Anyone who spends a few hours switching from Fox News to MSNBC or CNN can see that the news media will cover for certain parties, politicians, and policies more favorably: usually on a partisan basis, seeking to divide people down party lines.

When a policy is supported by both parties and all wings of the media, there is something clearly wrong.  CNN's Dr. Gupta's sudden change of heart on marijuana policy should not come as a surprise when thinking of it in a common sense way, seeing as the majority of Americans now support marijuana legalization. With the slow but steady shift in the marijuana debate now favoring those who believe it should be decriminalized for medical use or even legalized for recreational use, the anti-cannabis propagandists are now being forced to capitulate into defeat, and Dr. Guptas episode will only serve as fuel to the 'legalize it' fire now raging in dozens of states.

So why is the government-media-complex so afraid of marijuana? There are a few reasons. The government, media, and most large corporations are all owned by a small elite group of billionaires who have many different interests at stake. The many health benefits of cannabis alone is enough to scare the Big Pharma companies. Here are the top 5 contributors to anti-marijuana causes according to republicreport.org

1.) Police Unions: Police departments across the country have become dependent on federal drug war grants to finance their budget. In March, we published a story revealing that a police union lobbyist in California coordinated the effort to defeat Prop 19, a ballot measure in 2010 to legalize marijuana, while helping his police department clients collect tens of millions in federal marijuana-eradication grants. And it’s not just in California. Federal lobbying disclosures show that other police union lobbyists have pushed for stiffer penalties for marijuana-related crimes nationwide. 

2.) Private Prisons Corporations: Private prison corporations make millions by incarcerating people who have been imprisoned for drug crimes, including marijuana. As Republic Report’s Matt Stoller noted last year, Corrections Corporation of America, one of the largest for-profit prison companies, revealed in a regulatory filing that continuing the drug war is part in parcel to their business strategy. Prison companies have spent millions bankrolling pro-drug war politicians and have used secretive front groups, like the American Legislative Exchange Council, to pass harsh sentencing requirements for drug crimes.

3.) Alcohol and Beer Companies: Fearing competition for the dollars Americans spend on leisure, alcohol and tobacco interests have lobbied to keep marijuana out of reach. For instance, the California Beer & Beverage Distributors contributed campaign contributions to a committee set up to prevent marijuana from being legalized and taxed.

4.) Pharmaceutical Corporations: Like the sin industries listed above, pharmaceutical interests would like to keep marijuana illegal so American don’t have the option of cheap medical alternatives to their products. Howard Wooldridge, a retired police officer who now lobbies the government to relax marijuana prohibition laws, told Republic Report that next to police unions, the “second biggest opponent on Capitol Hill is big PhRMA” because marijuana can replace “everything from Advil to Vicodin and other expensive pills.”

5.) Prison Guard Unions: Prison guard unions have a vested interest in keeping people behind bars just like for-profit prison companies. In 2008, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association spent a whopping $1 million to defeat a measure that would have “reduced sentences and parole times for nonviolent drug offenders while emphasizing drug treatment over prison.”

The fact is that these lobbying groups fund and control both the Republicans and Democrats, which in turn have their state run media arms who will help perpetuate the "marijuana is the devil" propaganda. All this is done to keep the flow of money and power going through Washington and into the hands of their corporate handlers. So is Sanjay Gupta's pitiful admission that he was against marijuana before he was for it a sign that the propaganda war on drugs is failing? Is the fact that the drug war has failed finally starting to resonate through the lies which have been perpetuated on the television for decades finally forcing the media's hand to admit that cannabis has positive health effects?  I think so.

Here's is Gupta's statement:

1.) Police Unions: Police departments across the country have become dependent on federal drug war grants to finance their budget. In March, we published a story revealing that a police union lobbyist in California coordinated the effort to defeat Prop 19, a ballot measure in 2010 to legalize marijuana, while helping his police department clients collect tens of millions in federal marijuana-eradication grants. And it’s not just in California. Federal lobbying disclosures show that other police union lobbyists have pushed for stiffer penalties for marijuana-related crimes nationwide.
2.) Private Prisons Corporations: Private prison corporations make millions by incarcerating people who have been imprisoned for drug crimes, including marijuana. As Republic Report’s Matt Stoller noted last year, Corrections Corporation of America, one of the largest for-profit prison companies, revealed in a regulatory filing that continuing the drug war is part in parcel to their business strategy. Prison companies have spent millions bankrolling pro-drug war politicians and have used secretive front groups, like the American Legislative Exchange Council, to pass harsh sentencing requirements for drug crimes.
- See more at: http://www.republicreport.org/2012/marijuana-lobby-illegal/#sthash.zQkYmufi.dpuf