Dr. Sanjay Gupta's second medical-marijuana special is truly a sequel as it follows New Jersey's Wilson family in their quest for a CBD-rich tincture only available in Colorado.
Children are now in the forefront of the medical-cannabis movement, which is clearly shown in Weed 2: Cannabis Madness on CNN. Two-yearold Vivian Wilson suffers from epilepsy. When she takes an extract rich in cannibidiol and low in THC, her seizures subside. But the hash oil is not available at any of New Jersey's three dispensaries. So they go to Colorado instead for relief.
The Wilsons, Brian and Meghan, are among the first marijuana refugees - families with sick children that are flocking to the Centennial State. There, a family of brothers, the Stanleys, are among the chief providers on the cutting edge of medicinal breeding. They're now famous for the Charlotte's Web strain, named for another child who suffered from seizures.
Gupta also tackles research and new developments in an interesting middle section that focuses on GW Pharmarceuticals, the British company headed by Dr. Geoffrey Guy whose cannabis spray Sativex (for MS sufferers) has been approved by 25 countries but not the U.S. Next for GW is Epidolex for seizures, which recently received federal approval for research trials.
Marijuana naysayer Patrick Kennedy gets a little face time, but he's suprisingly tame in calling for more cannabis research and not railing against marijuana as he generally does (perhaps that got edited out)
Overall, it's another solid hour of reporting by Dr. Gupta that can only help to push for more medical-marijuana legislation (15 states are considering bills). He steers clear of the legalization debate. That's for another special.
