CNN Hypes Legal Marijuana In Colorado; 'Amazing Experience to Witness'
As Colorado stores began legally selling marijuana to customers on
Wednesday, CNN hyped the opening as "history being made" and an "amazing
experience to be a part of and to witness."
"[H]istory being made there in Colorado," noted New Day
co-host Michaela Pereira on Thursday. Anchor Ashleigh Banfield excitedly
reported that "some people have waited a lifetime and others have
waited in line for hours in the cold just for a chance to legally buy
some weed just to smoke for fun."
[Video below the break. Audio here.]
Correspondent Casey Wian hailed the "amazing" moment on Thursday morning:
"Fredricka it was really an amazing experience to be a part of and to witness. I'm surrounded by marijuana plants that are destined for Evergreen Apothecary which is where we spent New Year's Day the first day that Coloradoans could legally buy pot without a prescription for recreational use. Business was busier than even the owners ever expected."
On Wednesday's The Situation Room, fill-in host Dana Bash
described the jubilation of customers: "Prohibition is over. That's the
sentiment for many in Colorado today as recreational marijuana hits the
shelves for the first time in our nation's history."
Anchor Martin Savidge had some fun explaining the "history" of the day:
"This will likely go down in history as the day, and I like this, Mary
Jane goes mainstream."
Below is a transcript of relevant quotes:
1/1/14
NEWSROOM
[2:15 p.m. EST]
MARTIN SAVIDGE: This will likely go down in history as the day, and I
like this, Mary Jane goes mainstream. Pot, long-time symbol of the
counter culture, traditionally slipped from hand to hand in those dark,
smoky, surreptitiously lit rooms. Well, as of today, you can legally buy
marijuana in Colorado, right out in the open, take it home, use it for
fun, just like, say, buying alcohol, except for the long lines.
(...)
THE SITUATION ROOM
5:26 p.m. EST
DANA BASH: Prohibition is over. That's the sentiment for many in
Colorado today as recreational marijuana hits the shelves for the first
time in our nation's history.
(...)
(...)
1/2/14
NEW DAY
6:24 p.m. EST
MICHAELA PEREIRA: Yeah, history being made there in Colorado.
(...)
NEWSROOM
[9:52 a.m. EST]
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD: Casey, how did that first full day go?
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka it was really an amazing
experience to be a part of and to witness. I'm surrounded by marijuana
plants that are destined for Evergreen Apothecary, which is where we
spent New Year's Day, the first day that Coloradoans could legally buy
pot without a prescription for recreational use. Business was busier
than even the owners ever expected.
(...)
LEGAL VIEW
[11:42 a.m. EST]
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD: Well some people have waited a lifetime and others
have waited in line for hours in the cold just for a chance to legally
buy some weed just to smoke for fun. And now, under a new law in
Colorado, they can do it any time they want. So how did things go on
this history-making first day of buying weed legally?
— Matt Hadro is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Matt Hadro on Twitter.
