Mainstream media recycles narratives portraying high-THC cannabis as uniquely dangerous, often using celebrity episodes to stoke moral panic. Headlines attribute complex psychiatric events to 'high-powered weed' while omitting individual mental health history, dosage, product sourcing, set and setting, and scientific context. Millions of Americans use cannabis daily without acute harm, so isolated reports do not establish broad causation. Media coverage prioritizes clicks and fear over nuance, framing cannabis as a scapegoat rather than examining deeper factors like predispositions, trauma, or polysubstance use. Such coverage risks misinforming the public and skewing policy debates about regulation.
Mainstream media outlets are recycling tired narratives about cannabis, and this time, it's aimed squarely at high-THC weed. The headlines practically write themselves: Pete Davidson Says Weed Gave Him Psychosis or Lil Nas X Hospitalized After Smoking Potent Weed. The implication is obvious-weed is dangerous, high-THC weed is terrifying, and maybe it should be regulated even more than it already is.
What's conveniently left out of these stories is context, science, or reality. Millions of Americans consume weed every day without ending up hospitalized or experiencing psychotic breaks. And while every person's body is different-and yes, weed can hit people in different ways-it's disingenuous to turn one celebrity's mental health episode into a scapegoat campaign against cannabis. Let's unpack what's really going on here.
The media knows exactly what it's doing. When it headlines Pete Davidson's recent admission that he had psychosis "from weed," it conveniently omits nuance. Davidson, like many, has long documented struggles with mental health, trauma, and substance use. But by pinning a complex psychiatric episode on "high-powered weed," it shifts the conversation from his mental health history to moral panic about cannabis.
Collection
[
|
...
]