A surprising 43 percent of Americans live where legal adult-use marijuana is available, according to the 2019 U.S. Census report. With half of Americans welcoming legal marijuana, media executives are scrambling to bring marijuana into mainstream programming.

Netflix, Amazon, The Food Network, Discovery+, and YouTube all offer cannabis-focused content.

For whatever reason, cooking shows seem to be the most palatable medium for talking about previously taboo topics.

high temperature cooking, appetite, cooked with marijuana, haute cuisine, now chopped 420 Just a few of the projects created in recent years to satisfy America’s appetite for cannabis content.

slow evolution

Some of the early shows relied too much on bland one-liners and poorly executed puns. But recent shows appear to be moving beyond Stoner’s stereotypes and actually offer some insight into cannabis culture.

chopped 420 is one of the latest mainstream media.This is a spin-off of Food Network Chopped, now on its 45th season as a cable network.

New shows are available through Discovery+, an on-demand video streaming service that provides content from all of Discovery’s media properties.

“I think when Discovery puts their name on something like this, it really helps people say, ‘Okay, this must not be that bad,'” said Laganja Estranja, C’s special celebrity guest judgeJumping 420’s Premiere episode.

Television content, for better or worse, is educating viewers who have long been indoctrinated by the “Crazy Cold” propaganda.Seeing judges consuming marijuana and continuing to function as responsible adults could reduce the prevalence of marijuana stigma.

compete for popularity

These shows also allow viewers to see a new world. What does marijuana look like, what are the different forms it takes, and how is it used in cooking? These are questions that many people are afraid to ask. For those deeply ingrained in marijuana culture, it’s easy to forget that the plant has been likened to heroin for most of recent history, and is still in the same category as cocaine in the federal government. Cooking is a way of talking about cannabis as something approachable and familiar.

Legacy Cannabis Chef and author Jeff “The 420 Chef” Danzer has nearly 10,000 subscribers YouTube channel.He is educating audiences about cannabis and helping people avoid unpleasant marijuana-related experiences herb“My mission from the beginning has been to make the cannabis consumption experience simple and accessible for everyone,” he said during a panel at the Spring Emerge Virtual Cannabis Conference.

An in-depth understanding of potency and dosage may be the first step in helping people develop a positive relationship with cannabis. “I started making super-potent foods that were too strong for the people I was cooking with… For a lot of people, the dose was definitely an issue,” Danzer said.

Brandon Allen, cannabis chef and educator at the Trichome Institute, agrees that moderation is key. “If you give someone THC, assuming you can’t wipe it off, that’s why you have to be preventive and cautious and make sure you give people THC accordingly.” As the public learns to accept marijuana as commonplace, the cooking show reminds The audience’s “low and slow” consumption philosophy. This is a step in the cannabis education that the American public desperately needs.

educate the public

Most people know very little about cannabis, and what they know is often tainted by misinformation. TV marijuana shows have the opportunity to inform viewers. Ideally, the message is that this is a safe product for responsible adults; it is also a valuable medicine. Medicinal value is one area where many programs seem to fall short. It’s easy to focus on the interesting aspects of herbal medicine, but that ignores the real reason for the legalization of marijuana. Cannabis advocates strive to get the plant into the hands of the sick and dying because it provides unparalleled therapeutic relief for a variety of ailments.

Patients were first able to access medical marijuana thanks to the passage of Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act.

Its passage owes a lot to the work of Dennis Peron, a gay man who saw his friend with AIDS symptoms. It’s history that many marijuana-themed shows don’t delve into, but his advocacy is the foundation of all marijuana legalization.

Estranja touched on this topic in an interview Cannabis and Technology Today, “I got a medical license under Proposition 215. When I found out [Prop 215] It was actually founded by the LGBTQIA+ community, and as a queer and cannabis person, I really feel what it’s like to carry on that legacy. “

She continued, “I hope we can get to a place where people realize it’s a drug … this plant is a lot more than the hip-hop vibe and other things we know about cannabis pop culture.”

First food, then federal rescheduling

As these shows have grown in popularity, they have brought awareness to the cannabis industry. “My parents are watching the show, so it’s amazing how many people chopped 420 It’s been really successful,” Estranja said. Right now, these programs are somewhat one-dimensional. But, they’re laying the groundwork for deeper programming in the future. Maybe if we start with food and fun, Americans will be more comfortable began to explore the important complexities of plants.

“I really think what needs to happen is that we need to get the federal government’s approval. Until then, I really don’t think the stigma will change. We need more than Discovery Channel to do shows like this. We really need the federal government’s Recognition,” Estrangia said. Until marijuana is rearranged as a medically useful substance, mainstream TV will likely continue to only touch on the superficial aspects of the plant that makes it so important and powerful. ?