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'Misinformation and lies': WSJ op-ed bashed for linking MARIJUANA to mass shootings

The op-ed has come under fire for suggesting that marijuana use is connected to an alleged surge in violent crimes

A Wall Street Journal op-ed has come under fire for suggesting that marijuana use is connected to an alleged surge in violent crimes. The article cited studies claiming that schizophrenia and other mental illnesses have increased among underage smokers. An addiction specialist based at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego backed the claim, saying cannabis-related emergency room cases increased 53% in the three years after after recreational use was increased by California.

The article, written by board member Allysia Finley, also linked marijuana use to several mass shootings across the country. It cited reports that many shooters, including those behind the Pulse Nightclub massacre in Orlando, the Parkland high school shooting and the Aurora movie theater shooting used marijuana.

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"Mass shooters at Rep. Gabby Giffords’s constituent meeting in Tucson, Ariz. (2011), a movie theater in Aurora, Colo. (2012), the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla. (2016), the First Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas (2017), and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. (2018), were reported to be marijuana users. It could be a coincidence, but increasing evidence suggests a connection," the article, titled 'Cannabis and the Violent Crime Surge', reads. "Isn’t pot supposed to make you mellow? Maybe if you smoke only a joint on occasion. But youth nowadays are consuming marijuana more frequently and in higher doses than their elders did when they were young. This is leading to increased addiction and antisocial behavior."

"Alex Berenson, author of 'Tell Your Children: The Truth About Marijuana, Mental Illness and Violence,' pointed out that the New York Times had curiously removed from an article about the Uvalde school shooter a former co-worker’s recollection that he complained about his grandmother not letting him smoke weed. The Times didn’t append a correction to the story as it might be expected to do when fixing a factual inaccuracy," the article says.

'Misinformation and lies'

Social media users slammed Wall Street Journal for its op-ed, with some accusing them of spreading "misinformation and lies". "Well, the day has finally come. June 12, 2022. The day I finally blocked @wsj and @wsjopinion for straight up misinformation and lies. Congrats, you earned it," one user wrote. "This realllllly highlights a misunderstanding of epidemiology, my friend. Individual effects (some people can’t use cannabis without feeling awful, paranoid, anxious) doesn’t necessarily translate to population effect (cannabis is driving up violent crime stats)," said one user. One user commented, "You know putting “opinion” on this obviously insane take doesn’t change the fact that you also put it in the WSJ, right? Like that was a choice you made??"

"Ya, every time I smoke weed the first thing I want to do is get in a Uhaul van with my buddies and go make noise at Pride rallies. No wait, I lay on the couch munching cookies," one user said, while another wrote, "I have been smoking for 30+ years. It doesn’t not make you violent. Hungry, lethargic, euphoric, happy, sleepy…. Sure. Violent, absolutely not. This is obviously written by someone who has never tried cannabis." "Gimme a break. There's a connection between weed and binge watching while eating ice cream. There's a connection between lack of gun safety policies and mass shootings in America. Only America. Maybe explore that," one user commented.