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NEW INSTALLMENT PREMIERES SUNDAY, APRIL 19 AT 8PM ET/PT
NEW YORK, NY – (April 13, 2026) – CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta returns with a new installment of his duPont-Columbia Award winning and Emmy® nominated Weed series, this time examining a significant cultural moment: the rise of cannabis use among women. Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports Weed 8: Women and Weed premieres Sunday, April 19 at 8pm ET/PT on CNN. The hour will stream the next day for subscribers of CNN’s streaming offering.
In Weed 8: Women and Weed, Gupta travels to Oklahoma, where the legalization of medical marijuana in 2018 sparked a modern-day “green rush” in one of the country’s most traditionally conservative states. The hour explores how women are increasingly at the forefront of this movement as entrepreneurs, consumers and advocates, breaking what some call the “grass ceiling.” Women are now one of the fastest-growing segment of cannabis users in the United States and, for the first time, recently outpaced men.
“Over the past year, I’ve traveled across the country filming “Weed 8.” This latest chapter focuses on women and weed — a natural progression, and one that felt overdue,” said Dr. Gupta. “What I immediately learned was that cannabis has become a lifeline for countless women who feel unseen by conventional medicine. They are grandmothers trying to ease the side effects of cancer treatment, athletes managing endometriosis, teachers navigating the sleeplessness and mood swings of menopause. In the stories I gathered over the last year, I heard something profound: a quiet revolt against being ignored.
Gupta embeds with communities of “Cannamoms,” women who gather socially to consume cannabis, share experiences, and host educational events focused on wellness and responsible use. He also attends the annual Cowboy Cup, a celebration of cannabis culture in Oklahoma, to capture the scale and diversity of this evolving industry. Balancing personal stories with scientific inquiry, the hour features interviews with researchers studying the rise in cannabis use during pregnancy and its potential effects on brain development in young women, raising important questions about safety and stigma.
Weed 8: Women and Weed will stream live for pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps on Sunday, April 19. The hour will also be available on demand beginning Monday, April 20 to CNN’s streaming subscribers and pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps, and Cable Operator Platforms.
Past Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports are available to stream on demand for CNN’s streaming subscribers.
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The CNN Originals group develops, produces and acquires original, long-form unscripted programming for CNN Worldwide. Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent, CNN Originals and creative development, oversees the award-winning CNN Originals portfolio that includes the following premium content brands: CNN Original Series, CNN Films, CNN FlashDocs, and CNN Studios, an internal production studio which creates long-form programming for CNN’s global platforms. Since 2012, the team has overseen and executive produced more than 50 multi-part documentary series and 70 feature-length documentary films, earning more than 120 awards and 450 nominations for the cable network, including CNN Films’ first Academy Award® for Navalny. Acclaimed titles include the Peabody Award winning and 13-time Emmy® Award-winning Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown; five time Emmy® nominee, Apollo 11, directed by Todd Douglas Miller; Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain and Emmy® nominated Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico; the Emmy® Award-nominated “Decades Series”: The Sixties, The Seventies, The Eighties, The Nineties, The 2000s, and The 2010s, executive produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman; I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not directed by Emmy® winner Marina Zenovich; The Last Movie Stars, directed by Ethan Hawke about the lives and careers of actors and humanitarians Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman; Grammy® Award nominee Little Richard: I Am Everything, directed by Lisa Cortés; the Oscar®, BAFTA, PGA, and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, Navalny directed by Daniel Roher; The Many Lives of Martha Stewart; This is Life with Lisa Ling; Primetime Emmy® and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, RBG, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen; See It Loud: The History of Black Television, executive produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter; Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight in partnership with the BBC; the Producers Guild Award and three-time Emmy® Award-winning Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy; BAFTA nominee and Directors Guild Award winner, Three Identical Strangers, directed by Tim Wardle; and the five-time Emmy® Award-winning United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell; and the five-time Emmy® Award-winning The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper. CNN Originals can be seen on CNN, to stream via a CNN All Access subscription, on the CNN Original Hub on HBO Max and discovery+, on the CNN Originals FAST channel, and with a pay TV subscription via CNN.com, CNN apps and cable operator platforms.
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