NYT: We Were Wrong About Marijuana

[DonGlock26]

"Opinion
The Editorial Board

It’s Time for America to Admit That It Has a Marijuana Problem

Thirteen years ago, no state allowed marijuana for recreational purposes. Today, most Americans live in a state that allows them to buy and smoke a joint. President Trump continued the trend toward legalization in December by loosening federal restrictions.

This editorial board has long supported marijuana legalization. In 2014, we published a six-part series that compared the federal marijuana ban to alcohol prohibition and argued for repeal. Much of what we wrote then holds up — but not all of it does.

At the time, supporters of legalization predicted that it would bring few downsides. In our editorials, we described marijuana addiction and dependence as “relatively minor problems.” Many advocates went further and claimed that marijuana was a harmless drug that might even bring net health benefits. They also said that legalization might not lead to greater use.

It is now clear that many of these predictions were wrong. Legalization has led to much more use. Surveys suggest that about 18 million people in the United States have used marijuana almost daily (or about five times a week) in recent years. That was up from around six million in 2012 and less than one million in 1992. More Americans now use marijuana daily than alcohol."

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/opinion/regulate-legalized-marijuana.html?unlocked_article_code=1.LlA.iQAs.bC2ztEojJyFW&smid=url-share

This comes as no surprise. Progressive fools are virtually wrong about everything.

 

[ColonelAngus]

In Tampa, there is a smoke shop or dispensary on nearly EVERY CORNER.

 

[pknopp]

Less than one million in 1992. LOL.

Get real.

 

[TNHarley]

More Americans now use marijuana daily than alcohol."

Good news!

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

In Tampa, there is a smoke shop or dispensary on nearly EVERY CORNER.

Sweet! I will be there tomorrow.

 

[IM2]

There is a bigger problem with nicotine.

 

[fncceo]

In Tampa, there is a smoke shop or dispensary on nearly EVERY CORNER.

We used to have a gas station on every corner.

And our pots were for chickens.

 

[Harry Dresden]

Less than one million in 1992. LOL.

Get real.

yea thats a pretty low number....

 

[citygator]

I hate the direction of more drug use and don’t love legalizing it. I get the argument for it though.

However I don’t think the article made a good argument on the negative impact of MJ. It basically said some people get stomach aches.

I think tracking outcomes of users is important. My gut is that MJ is interfering in success, health, and happiness of millions but I could be wrong.

 

[pknopp]

I hate the direction of more drug use and don’t love legalizing it. I get the argument for it though.

However I don’t think the article made a good argument on the negative impact of MJ. It basically said some people get stomach aches.

I think tracking outcomes of users is important. My gut is that MJ is interfering in success, health, and happiness of millions but I could be wrong.

Laws have never stopped people from using marijuana. What interfered with success was a record for marijuana possession.

And I say this as someone that doesn't participate.

 

[citygator]

Laws have never stopped people from using marijuana. What interfered with success was a record for marijuana possession.

And I say this as someone that doesn't participate.

Totally get the argument but I have a hard time believing there isnt a downside to all the incremental use we are seeing that may offset legalizing. I certainly am not for criminalizing addictions but I dont love where we are at either. If I had a better idea I'd suggest it.

 

[ColonelAngus]

Weed may be better than SSRIs.

Good diet and exercise and emotional maturity in dealing with anxiety and depression are better.

 

[pknopp]

Totally get the argument but I have a hard time believing there isnt a downside to all the incremental use we are seeing that may offset legalizing. I certainly am not for criminalizing addictions but I dont love where we are at either. If I had a better idea I'd suggest it.

I understand but there is a downside in nearly everything.

 

[marvin martian]

"Opinion
The Editorial Board

It’s Time for America to Admit That It Has a Marijuana Problem

Thirteen years ago, no state allowed marijuana for recreational purposes. Today, most Americans live in a state that allows them to buy and smoke a joint. President Trump continued the trend toward legalization in December by loosening federal restrictions.

This editorial board has long supported marijuana legalization. In 2014, we published a six-part series that compared the federal marijuana ban to alcohol prohibition and argued for repeal. Much of what we wrote then holds up — but not all of it does.

At the time, supporters of legalization predicted that it would bring few downsides. In our editorials, we described marijuana addiction and dependence as “relatively minor problems.” Many advocates went further and claimed that marijuana was a harmless drug that might even bring net health benefits. They also said that legalization might not lead to greater use.

It is now clear that many of these predictions were wrong. Legalization has led to much more use. Surveys suggest that about 18 million people in the United States have used marijuana almost daily (or about five times a week) in recent years. That was up from around six million in 2012 and less than one million in 1992. More Americans now use marijuana daily than alcohol."

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/opinion/regulate-legalized-marijuana.html?unlocked_article_code=1.LlA.iQAs.bC2ztEojJyFW&smid=url-share

This comes as no surprise. Progressive fools are virtually wrong about everything.

Unfortunately, I have to go to Sacramento, CA four times a year for work, and every time I'm there, literally every single public place where people are, as well as nearly every block downtown, reeks of weed. Absolutely reeks of it. It's disgusting.

It's what I imagine it was like when 90% of adults smoked and people were allowed to smoke anywhere.

 

[Chuz Life]

Who benefits more than China, from the increased use of recreational drugs in the U.S.?

Someday, they may not even need to fire a shot to take from us, anything they want.

 

[shockedcanadian]

It sounds like Big Pharma got to the NYT, the same paper that danced and sang songs for the trifecta of authoritarians, The Big Three from WWII:


Walter Duranty and Joseph Stalin / the Soviet Union

• Duranty won a Pulitzer Prize in 1932 for his reporting on the Soviet Union, including interviews with Stalin and dispatches from Moscow.
• In his articles, he frequently downplayed or denied the severity of the famine in Ukraine (the Holodomor) — even stating that “there is no famine or actual starvation nor is there likely to be.”
• He characterized food shortages as “bad” but not famine, and echoed phrases like “you can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs” when describing the suffering under Soviet policies.
• Critics say his reports essentially echoed Soviet propaganda and helped mask the scale of suffering under Stalin’s rule; later reviewers, including Times staff decades later, acknowledged these dispatches were deeply flawed and uncritical.

Coverage of of Benito Mussolini and Fascism​

Some Times correspondents described Mussolini’s rise in terms that emphasized stability or revival:

• Reporter Anne O’Hare McCormick wrote extensively about Mussolini’s Italy in the 1920s and 1930s, often focusing on what she saw as Italy’s revitalization and the leader’s role in restoring order.
• McCormick’s dispatches reportedly presented a romanticized picture of Italy under Mussolini, at times downplaying the regime’s repression. While not formal “praise articles,” her tone and emphasis meant readers got a more positive impression of “Il Duce’s” leadership than was later justified.

Early coverage of Adolf Hitler (sounds a hell of a lot like the coverage the CCP receive today, of course their assurances of peace an tranquility as they poison the West must be reliable).​

The Times’s early reporting on Hitler’s rise also reflected the uncertainties and biases of the time:

• The very first NYT article about Hitler (Nov 1922) described him in neutral or analytic terms, claiming his anti-Semitism “was not so violent or genuine as it sounded.”
• As Hitler became Chancellor — sometimes emphasized his public statements suggesting peace and moderation, repeating official Nazi assurances that Germany sought stability rather than aggression. One article noted that Hitler delivered a speech “envisaging a peaceful, prosperous Europe,” leaving “full scope for diplomatic action or mediation.”

Bonus coverage: The paper once published an op-ed (in 2020) that many Jewish organizations said failed to adequately contextualize the long history of hate from Louis Farrakhan, leading critics to call it “glowing” in tone for downplaying bigoted rhetoric.

 

[MarathonMike]

I hate the direction of more drug use and don’t love legalizing it. I get the argument for it though.

However I don’t think the article made a good argument on the negative impact1 of MJ. It basically said some people get stomach aches.

I think tracking outcomes of users is important. My gut is that MJ is interfering in success, health, and happiness of millions but I could be wrong.

Like a lot of things, Cannabis has both positive and negative properties. It is a very effective painkiller but also is psychologically if not physically addictive.

 

[Chuz Life]

Like a lot of things, Cannabis has both positive and negative properties. It is a very effective painkiller but also is psychologically if not physically, addictive.

There is a good reason why the pot heads call getting high "Gettin Stewpid."

 

[fncceo]

I hate the direction of more drug use and don’t love legalizing it. I get the argument for it though.

However I don’t think the article made a good argument on the negative impact of MJ. It basically said some people get stomach aches.

I think tracking outcomes of users is important. My gut is that MJ is interfering in success, health, and happiness of millions but I could be wrong.

It would be very difficult to make a non-emotional argument that marijuana use is a negligibly greater risk than alcohol use.

Other than that even in areas of high alcohol use the smell of alcohol doesn’t oppressively pervade the air.

We all know what a success was the prohibition of alcohol.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Who benefits more than China, from the increased use of recreational drugs in the U.S.?

Someday, they may not even need to fire a shot to take from us, anything they want.

Oh, then you can show us the damage to the military and GDP. Etcetera.

Looking forward to it.