Why I changed my mind on weed

By Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent
August 9, 2013 -- Updated 0044 GMT (0844 HKT)

Dr. Sanjay Gupta: I've tried marijuana

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Dr. Sanjay Gupta says we have been "systematically misled" on marijuana 
• DEA lists marijuana as a schedule 1 substance with "high potential for abuse" 
• Most recent research on marijuana has been on its negative effects, Gupta says 
• Studies on marijuana require approval from National Institute on Drug Abuse 

(CNN) -- Over the last year, I have been working on a new documentary called "Weed." The title "Weed" may sound cavalier, but the content is not.

I traveled around the world to interview medical leaders, experts, growers and patients. I spoke candidly to them, asking tough questions. What I found was stunning.

Long before I began this project, I had steadily reviewed the scientific literature on medical marijuana from the United States and thought it was fairly unimpressive. Reading these papers five years ago, it was hard to make a case for medicinal marijuana. I even wrote about this in a TIME magazine article, back in 2009, titled "Why I would Vote No on Pot."

Well, I am here to apologize.

I apologize because I didn't look hard enough, until now. I didn't look far enough. I didn't review papers from smaller labs in other countries doing some remarkable research, and I was too dismissive of the loud chorus of legitimate patients whose symptoms improved on cannabis.

(More here.)