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Pun alert: CNN got a ratings high Tuesday night thanks to Dr. Sanjay Gupta‘s look at the new politics of pot. The special Weed 2: Cannabis Madness saw the cable news network’s ratings spike in its ever-shifting 10 p.m. hour.
PHOTOS: 12 Pivotal Moments in Pot Culture
Among viewers in the news demo of 25-to-54, CNN averaged 354,000 during the hour — up nearly 300 percent from the time period’s four-week average of just 121,000. Ten o’clock has been a tricky one for CNN: After swapping out repeats of Anderson Cooper 360, the hour has been grounds for primetime experimentation — mostly for documentary specials.
Total viewers also swelled for the special. The network averaged 757,000, besting MSNBC for second-place status. (Weed 2: Cannabis Madness also ranked second in the demo, after Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity, besting MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell.)
Marijuana increasingly has been a popular topic on the cable news nets, with Washington and Colorado recently voting to legalize the drug for recreational use.
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