The Crisis of Anti-Intellectualism in Cannabis

When Experience Isn’t Enough: The Battle Between Misinformation and Science in Cannabis

Anti-intellectualism is alive and well, and few places showcase it more clearly than the cannabis industry. Step into a dispensary, sit through a cannabis marketing pitch, or skim an online forum, and you’ll see it firsthand. Myths get passed around like a well-worn joint, misinformation spreads faster than facts, and both consumers and industry professionals double down on what they think they know—whether or not the science agrees.

Despite decades of legitimate research, the conversation around cannabis still feels like it’s stuck in an old-timey barbershop, where anecdote beats expertise every time. And let’s be honest—this isn’t just a cannabis problem. We live in a time when experience is often mistaken for expertise, and questioning one’s own knowledge is practically a lost art. But in an industry that could change lives, that resistance to learning isn’t just frustrating—it’s holding us all back.

The Limits of Personal Experience

You’d think that with so many people turning to cannabis for relief, there’d be a real hunger for knowledge—some eagerness to learn how to get the most out of it. And yet, time and again, I find myself in dispensaries—medical or adult-use—offering guidance like a busker with an invisible guitar, hoping someone will pause long enough to hear me out. The irony? I’m usually sitting right next to a giant sign advertising my book and clinic, yet people breeze past, convinced they already know everything they need to.

Take, for instance, a gentleman I met earlier this eek while promoting my book at a local dispensary. To a trained eye, his decades of debilitating back pain, hip arthritis, and neurological dysfunction were obvious—etched into the way he hunched over when he moved and the way he stood. I asked if he was satisfied with the relief cannabis had provided him so far.

Immediately, he stiffened, like he’d just smelled a sales pitch. Then came the scoff, as he sized me up and guessed at my age. “I’ve been smoking for 55 years—longer than you’ve been alive,” he declared, as if time and a collection of ashtrays had granted him an honorary degree in cannabinoid science. In his mind and written all over his face, there was nothing left to learn. He had his routine, and that was that—no need to refine, rethink, or even consider that cannabis might have more to offer than what he already knew.

It’s a common sentiment—not just in cannabis, but in medicine, nutrition, and so many areas of life. Experience is valuable, but it’s not the same as expertise. The challenge isn’t that people are resistant to learning; it’s that they often don’t realize there’s more to learn.

Misinformation in the Cannabis Industry

This mindset doesn’t just exist among consumers—it’s woven into the fabric of the cannabis industry itself. I see it constantly, not only in patients but in the very people selling the products.

Budtenders, often well-intentioned but undertrained, confidently dispense advice that’s been passed down like folklore—repeated enough times that it feels like fact. Dispensaries, in turn, reinforce these ideas, rarely tethering them to the growing body of medical research.

Take CBN, for example. Nearly every dispensary rep I’ve spoken with swears it’s a sleep aid—it’s practically gospel in the cannabis space. But medical research tells a different story. While THC is well-documented to aid sleep, and CBN—a degraded form of THC—has some effect, it’s actually CBN’s metabolites that provide the primary sleep benefits, not CBN itself. That nuance is completely missing from the conversation. Instead, the myth gets passed around like a game of telephone, from budtender to consumer and back again, reinforcing a cycle of misinformation.

This isn’t an attack on budtenders, dispensaries, or patients. There are also bright, well-informed voices in the cannabis space—scientists, physicians, and researchers working tirelessly to bring real knowledge to the forefront. But they are few and far between, and, sadly, many of the most respected intellectual leaders in cannabis have recently retired or left the space altogether. What remains is an industry that has grown rapidly without the same standards of education and regulation that other medical fields require. And it’s a symptom of a broader issue—one that extends far beyond cannabis.

Cannabis vs. the Medical Establishment

This rejection of expertise is even more glaring when contrasted with the medical establishment—the pinnacle of academic intellectualism. Hospitals and research institutions value knowledge, publication, and self-improvement. Progress is measured through rigorous study, constant questioning, and the refinement of medical understanding. The result? People live longer, healthier lives because science demands that we evolve.

Yet when we step outside those walls, and the halls of academia, and certainly when it comes to cannabis, the industry has fully rejected this approach. There is no structured push for scientific advancement, no standardized framework for educating professionals, and no commitment to challenging misconceptions with real data, or meaningful efforts to collaborate with institutions to improve health or well-being through ongoing learning. Instead, knowledge in cannabis is often shaped by word-of-mouth, legacy beliefs, and marketing gimmicks, rather than by research, trials, and expertise.

The medical field itself has been slow to recognize the significance of cannabis, largely because the endocannabinoid system was barely acknowledged in medical training until recently. Many doctors, researchers, and policymakers are still hesitant to embrace it—not out of malice, but because it was never part of their foundational education.

Dispensaries Are Failing—And It’s Not Hard to See Why

To me, it’s no wonder so many medical dispensaries are struggling or shutting down altogether. Despite the name, most have never truly felt ‘medical’—and many seem to be doing everything in their power to keep it that way. They are often prohibited from even discussing how cannabis interacts with specific ailments, they make no effort to cultivate a patient population with particular needs, and they rarely attempt to collaborate with doctors or medical organizations, even for basic marketing purposes. Instead of functioning as part of a healthcare system, most operate like retail storefronts with a singular focus: sales.

But if cannabis is truly a medicine, why is the industry so allergic to acting like one? Instead of educating and guiding people toward thoughtful, effective use, most dispensaries are designed to optimize transactions, not treatment. In the end, that’s bad for business, too—because if you don’t provide real expertise, patients will eventually look elsewhere.

A Culture That No Longer Values Depth

This rejection of expertise isn’t happening in isolation. It exists alongside a broader cultural shift away from depth, intellectual curiosity, and the pursuit of wisdom. Where does TikTok culture fit into all this? The dominance of two-minute news soundbites, the loss of long-form education, the decline of investigative journalism—where does it all lead?

As a people, we once valued intelligence, education, and the pursuit of truth. Now, we seem more captivated by beautiful people dancing for 60 second romps than by scientific discoveries or intellectual achievement. Depth has been replaced by dopamine hits, knowledge by viral trends.

And when expertise is replaced with entertainment, when facts take a backseat to whatever is most clickable, industries like cannabis—and medicine as a whole—suffer.

Cannabis Is an Opportunity, If We Let It Be

Cannabis is not just a plant. It’s a science, a medicine, and, most importantly, an opportunity—an opportunity to think critically, to approach wellness with curiosity, and to break free from the intellectual stagnation that has held it back for far too long.

But to change this, we have to confront the broader issue. We need to revive the lost art of caring—about expertise, about connection, about knowing more than we did yesterday. And that responsibility doesn’t just fall on the public—it applies to professionals, too.

Unfortunately, many of the intellectual leaders who helped shape the cannabis space—the scientists, doctors, and advocates who fought for real education and reform—have begun to step away, exhausted by an industry that often values marketing over knowledge. If we don’t prioritize real expertise now, we risk losing it altogether.

Because when we stop valuing knowledge, we don’t just lose expertise—we lose trust, progress, and the chance to make things better for everyone.

….If this sparked your curiosity, my book will light it up! 👌💨

Excerpt from The Doctor-Approved Cannabis Handbook:

Chapter 2, How Cannabis Works (Page 33-34)

"In spite of the wide-ranging efforts to cast cannabis as a cultural taboo, knowledgeable, vocal advocates for the plant have remained powerful. Beginning in earnest after 1988 when the endocannabinoid system was first discovered, medical research in cannabis is more prolific than ever before. Today, cannabis use has come full circle. Against generations of headwinds and all likelihood, the majority of public opinion once again supports comfortable access to the therapeutic benefits of cannabis for those who want it.

Cannabis can uniquely influence both the brain and body, which makes it an ideal therapy for so many areas of health. The reason: it has the ability to communicate with just about every cell in the body via the endocannabinoid system. Endo refers to molecules that are produced inside your body. Cannabinoid refers to the collection of molecules and their precursors—either naturally occurring within the body, or produced from plants—and their receptors in the body. This receptor/molecule combination activates a massive array of positive health effects. Cannabis products are literal copycats of endocannabinoids: they are almost identical to the form and function of the naturally occurring molecules that are found in almost all living creatures."

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