{"id":2570978,"date":"2026-02-18T09:11:57","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T14:11:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nyt-finally-admits-what-we-therapists-have-known-for-years-weed-makes-people-insane\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T09:13:40","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T14:13:40","slug":"nyt-finally-admits-what-we-therapists-have-known-for-years-weed-makes-people-insane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nyt-finally-admits-what-we-therapists-have-known-for-years-weed-makes-people-insane\/","title":{"rendered":"NYT Finally Admits Weed Makes People Insane"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnyt-finally-admits-what-we-therapists-have-known-for-years-weed-makes-people-insane%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2570978&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>An opinion piece argues that The New York Times has shifted from portraying marijuana as largely harmless to acknowledging its greater harms and the need for regulation, citing the op-ed \u201cIt\u2019s Time for America to Admit That It Has a Marijuana Problem.\u201d it contends the Times previously framed cannabis as benign or medicinal and downplayed addiction risks, a stance it says helped popularize legalization across many states. The author cites data from the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics indicating a large rise in marijuana use from 2015 to 2024 and ample experimentation among <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-education-sec-on-womens-school-sports-we-have-a-legal-responsibility-to-include-transgender-athletes\/\" title=\"Biden Education Sec On Women...s School Sports: We Have a \u2018Legal Responsibility... to Include Transgender Athletes\">high school students<\/a>, alongside reported harms such as addiction, lung issues, cognitive impairment, suicidality, and psychosis. Drawing on his experience as a therapist, the author shares clinical cases of cannabis-associated psychosis and a fatal incident where a patient in Silicon Valley, after marijuana use, became paranoid and attacked police, arguing that such outcomes are not rare. The piece also references public voices, including Brett Cooper and Alex Berenson, to illustrate a perceived cannabis crisis, and concludes with a brief bio of Pamela Garfield-Jaeger, author and therapist. the article presents a call to recognize marijuana\u2019s dangers and reassess its legalization trajectory.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>After years of doubling down on the legalization of marijuana and minimizing its harms,&nbsp;The New York Times&nbsp;has finally broken the seal of truth by admitting that marijuana is far more harmful than most people want to acknowledge. The article,&nbsp;titled&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/09\/opinion\/regulate-legalized-marijuana.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&ldquo;It&rsquo;s Time&nbsp;for America&nbsp;to Admit That&nbsp;It Has&nbsp;a Marijuana Problem,&rdquo;<\/a>&nbsp;marks a dramatic reversal and walks back years of misleading claims.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This shift is significant because, in the past,&nbsp;The New York Times&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2014\/07\/27\/opinion\/sunday\/high-time-marijuana-legalization.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">compared<\/a>&nbsp;restrictions on marijuana to the era of alcohol prohibition and portrayed cannabis as benign, even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/07\/21\/upshot\/is-there-anything-actually-medical-about-medical-marijuana.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">medicinal<\/a>. It denied the risk of addiction, as many speculated that legalization would not significantly increase use. The&nbsp;Times&nbsp;was highly influential in shaping public opinion and policy, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncsl.org\/health\/state-medical-cannabis-laws\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">contributing<\/a> to the widespread legalization of marijuana across 24 states for recreational use and 40 states for medical use. This week, it quietly began to reverse&nbsp;course.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Despite the&nbsp;Times&rsquo;&nbsp;previous&nbsp;assertions, data from&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/drugabusestatistics.org\/marijuana-addiction\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics<\/a>&nbsp;shows a 65.2&nbsp;percent&nbsp;increase in marijuana use between 2015 and 2024, with 34.8&nbsp;percent&nbsp;of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >high school seniors&#038;nbsp<\/a>;saying they had experimented with the drug.&nbsp;Alongside increased use, we are seeing serious&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/my.clevelandclinic.org\/health\/articles\/4392-marijuana-cannabis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">side effects<\/a>, including addiction, lung disorders, attention-span problems, memory and cognitive impairment, suicidality, and psychotic symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, and paranoia. Now that the fruits of marijuana legalization are clearly visible,&nbsp;The New York Times&nbsp;is suddenly retreating from its earlier&nbsp;enthusiasm.<\/p>\n<p>My&nbsp;unpopular views on marijuana came long before the&nbsp;Times&nbsp;changed its tune. They originated from my experience as a therapist in inpatient and outpatient psychiatric settings, starting in the mid-to-late 2000s. My role required conducting assessments and thoroughly reviewing patients&rsquo;&nbsp;histories. Over time, I noticed a troubling pattern reported by families of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia:&nbsp;Many of these individuals were functioning normally until they began using marijuana. In some cases,&nbsp;the drug&nbsp;use was not even long-term. At first, I struggled to believe it. But as I investigated further,&nbsp;I found that my experience&nbsp;was not an anomaly; there&nbsp;was&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/18515902\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">research<\/a>&nbsp;supporting what I was seeing clinically.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>My understanding&nbsp;deepened further&nbsp;several years later while I was in private practice. By then, I was no longer treating patients with acute psychiatric conditions. Nevertheless, one patient in his mid-40s, with no prior history of psychosis, changed everything. He sought therapy for anxiety and relationship issues. He held a well-paid tech job in Silicon Valley and was functioning well enough that we had discussed discharging him from treatment.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>That changed when he began using marijuana. He rapidly became erratic, paranoid, and consumed by irrational thoughts and&nbsp;delusions. I expressed&nbsp;serious concern&nbsp;and referred him to a physician, but he insisted that marijuana was helping him and refused to follow my advice. His behavior escalated to the point that his coworkers called 911. When police arrived, his paranoid delusions led him to lunge at officers, and he was shot and killed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Were my patients and I simply unlucky? Unfortunately, no. This problem is widespread. I have since heard countless&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dfaf.org\/the-tragic-toll-of-cannabis-induced-psychosis-a-story-of-loss-and-awareness-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">similar stories<\/a>. Speak with any professional working in an acute psychiatric setting, and they will confirm that cannabis-related psychosis is far more common than most people are willing to admit. For example, Dr. Amy Mayhew, a&nbsp;psychiatrist&nbsp;and clinical director at Maine Medical Center,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ISPRiDEvbOQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">has reported<\/a>&nbsp;seeing a high number of teen patients presenting with psychosis despite having no family history of such symptoms, yet a clear pattern of high-potency marijuana use. The connection was impossible for her to ignore.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>With the&nbsp;New York Times&nbsp;op-ed circulating, conservative influencer Brett Cooper has also come forward to share her family&rsquo;s experience.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/imbrettcooper\/status\/2021258140822470980?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">She wrote on X:<\/a>&nbsp;&ldquo;My mom and I have been told that my brother&rsquo;s psychosis&nbsp;&mdash;&nbsp;now <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-latest-on-brian-laundrie-notebook-found-near-body\/\" title=\"The Latest On Brian Laundrie Notebook Found Near Body\">full-blown&#038;nbsp<\/a>;diagnosed&nbsp;schizophrenia&nbsp;&mdash;&nbsp;is&nbsp;most likely drug-induced&nbsp;from his years of smoking weed. This drug&nbsp;isn&rsquo;t&nbsp;harmless, no matter what our culture and the screaming people in comment sections tried to tell us.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>My mom and I have been told that my brother&#8217;s psychosis &ndash; now full blown diagnosed Schizophrenia &ndash; is most likely drug induced from his years of smoking weed.<\/p>\n<p>This drug isn&#8217;t harmless, no matter what our culture and screaming people in comments sections tried to tell us. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PMFDO0kx4v\">https:\/\/t.co\/PMFDO0kx4v<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&mdash; Brett Cooper (@imbrettcooper) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/imbrettcooper\/status\/2021258140822470980?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 10, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Alex Berenson, the bestselling author of&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Tell-Your-Children-Marijuana-Violence\/dp\/1982103671\/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=2GNEE9T8E758G&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.BksS9uiQZVAeBibAgfIFHZY07ffHehAQAqwgMzhvz65c2AAxbDpJ2RiXJydLOf-E0wa1B2gVFE46Dr1iS1oBUhVEC4WYT38_2HH5zvhqNzohEMRxJsganT9Bv1Hb13GuxDv54S_sYQalpOBJ74QSGw.S2H5gisafyXuwMqu5KYlpeJh4LiFtw470t6IPgM7Cp0&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=tell+your+children+by+alex+berenson&amp;qid=1770177094&amp;sprefix=tell+your+chil,aps,178&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tell Your Children: The Truth About Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence<\/a><\/em>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AlexBerenson\/status\/2022060318068027622?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">responded to Cooper&rsquo;s testimony<\/a>&nbsp;by&nbsp;stating,&nbsp;&ldquo;Now that the opioid crisis is&nbsp;&mdash;&nbsp;thankfully&nbsp;&mdash;&nbsp;starting to recede, the cannabis crisis is going to take center&nbsp;stage.&rdquo;&nbsp;He&nbsp;is correct. This is a crisis of extraordinary proportions. Marijuana is not benign. It is dangerous. And it is&nbsp;long past&nbsp;time&nbsp;for&nbsp;The New York&nbsp;Times&nbsp;to finally admit&nbsp;that.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div>\n<p>      Pamela Garfield-Jaeger is a licensed therapist and the author of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0CW1KZVTJ?ref=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_mwn_dp_RWJ4XA4Z8CKTAYDAHTPZ&amp;ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_mwn_dp_RWJ4XA4Z8CKTAYDAHTPZ&amp;social_share=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_mwn_dp_RWJ4XA4Z8CKTAYDAHTPZ&amp;bestFormat=true\">&#8220;A Practical Response to Gender Distress: Tips and Tools for Families,&#8221;<\/a> and a charming children&rsquo;s book about self acceptance <a href=\"https:\/\/froggygirlbook.com\/\">&#8220;Froggy Girl.&#8221;<\/a> Follow her on on X <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/pgarfieldjaeger\">@pgarfieldjaeger<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NYT now admits marijuana harms outweigh prior claims<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4171,"featured_media":2570979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Copy-of-Untitled-32.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[8290,5561,56439,74017],"class_list":["post-2570978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-cannabis","tag-marijuana","tag-media-bias-2","tag-mental-health-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Copy-of-Untitled-32.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4171"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2570978"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570978\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2570982,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570978\/revisions\/2570982"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2570979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2570978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2570978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2570978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}