La Prensa Ecuatoriana y el Tratamiento que Da al Cannabis

The legalization of cannabis, as a result of its strong resurgence in contemporary world societies, and thanks to its medicinal potential, has become one of the main topics of debate on the agendas of doctors, politicians, businessmen, researchers, academics, as well as the media. This study analyzes the coverage that the Ecuadorian newspapers El Universo, El Comercio, Extra, El Telégrafo, Primicias and La Hora gave to the topic of cannabis during six months of the year 2022. Through content analysis, the way in which the newspapers reported on the topic was evaluated and compared. Each newspaper was subjected to scrutiny through the creation of a database in which several variables such as journalistic genre, the topics covered, the uses to which cannabis is put, among others, were placed. After examining and comparing the data, results were obtained whose discourse shows that the use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes is not of interest to the Ecuadorian newspapers studied. The conclusions indicate that cannabis is a relevant topic in the agenda of the newspapers, although the the newspapers' agenda, although coverage focused on descriptive information, as opposed to opinions and analysis. opinions and analysis. The central themes of the news about cannabis are related to police, judicial and criminal aspects. police, judicial and criminal aspects.