The CNN documentary, “WEED: Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports”, presented by its chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta has received the duPont-Columbia University Award for 2015, according to a university release.

The documentary took a critical look at research on medical marijuana and its impact on the lives of its users. “With compelling personal cases, over two groundbreaking primetime hours, CNN illustrated how medical marijuana can heal and help when traditional drugs, also often harmful, don’t work,” the university said.

The documentary also took a critical look at recreational use and how marijuana today is much more potent and potentially dangerous than in previous generations.

“WEED” was accompanied by a robust online opinion piece by Gupta in which he apologised for his previous reporting on medical marijuana and made the case for its medical use. Shortly after “WEED” aired, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed a law allowing the use of medical marijuana for use in children.

Sanjay Gupta, a leading Indian-American neurosurgeon, author and media personality, has served as a White House Fellow from 1997 to 1998. In 2003, Gupta travelled to Iraq to cover the medical aspects of the 2003 invasion of that country. While in Iraq, he performed emergency surgery on both US soldiers and Iraqi civilians.

Every year about a dozen news stories are honoured by the duPont-Columbia University Awards for the strength of their reporting, storytelling and impact.