Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, has admitted that he was wrong on marijuana, a drug he has been a longtime advocate against. Gupta discovered marijuana’s benefits while working on his upcoming documentary Weed and now says that he was wrong to fight against it.

In “Why I changed my mind on weed,” an oped just posted on CNN today, Gupta apologized for being wrong on marijuana. He noted how long he had been against marijuana, even linking to a 2009 Time magazine piece he wrote titled “Why I would vote no on pot.”

“Well, I am here to apologize,” Gupta writes. “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.”

He goes on to explain that he believed what the Drug Enforcement Agency said about pot, saying that he agreed with the agency’s “sound scientific proof.”

“Instead, I lumped them with the high-visibility malingerers, just looking to get high. I mistakenly believed the Drug Enforcement Agency listed marijuana as a schedule 1 substance because of sound scientific proof. Surely, they must have quality reasoning as to why marijuana is in the category of the most dangerous drugs that have ‘no accepted medicinal use and a high potential for abuse.’”

Gupta said that he hopes his documentary will change the way people think about marijuana. He brings up the case of Charlotte Figi, who has been dealing with seizures since she was born.

“By age 3, she was having 300 a week, despite being on seven different medications. Medical marijuana has calmed her brain, limiting her seizures to 2 or 3 per month,” Gupta notes. “I have seen more patients like Charlotte first hand, spent time with them and come to the realization that it is irresponsible not to provide the best care we can as a medical community, care that could involve marijuana.”

Gupta’s documentary airs Sunday at 8 p.m. He also appeared on Piers Morgan’s show last night to discuss the marijuana debate.

image: CNN YouTube video