Many house-dwelling Americans sat on their couches on New Year’s Eve, getting shit-faced drunk and waiting for the ball to drop to signify the coming of 2018. And many of those Americans were shocked to see people getting exceptionally stoned on live television. But did one CNN anchor smoke pot on live TV?

Ringing In The New Year Right

During CNN’s coverage of the year-end festivities in Times Square, the cable news network aired an additional live segment from Denver. That’s where anchor Randi Kaye and several enthusiastic members of high society held and interacted with legal marijuana in front of the cameras. But did the CNN anchor smoke pot on live TV?

The piece showed Kaye holding a joint for the audience to see, shouting, “This is for you Andy!” as a nod to CNN’s Andy Cohen, who hosted the New Year’s Eve show along with Anderson Cooper.

Kaye even assisted one guy in firing up his gas mask bong in front of millions of television viewers. In the grand scheme in the fight to end prohibition, it was a legendary sight for stoned eyes.

But many of the folks on the other end of the television set were less impressed. Believe it or not, some were not happy with CNN’s willingness to openly embrace the marijuana culture.

The Backlash

Some took to their trusty Twitter accounts to express their outrage. But was it warranted? Did the CNN anchor smoke pot on live TV? Whether she did or not wasn’t the point to these angry individuals. They argued that since marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, CNN should face consequences for their permissive move. They called for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to swoop in and punish the news organization for promoting drug use on national TV.

Others seemed somewhat unnerved that CNN televised pot smoking activities. Especially since thousands of people are still in prison for doing much of the same.

A few Americans voiced concerns over the televised pot smoking leading to the end of a credible nation.

“You are now the high news network. Congratulations on destroying what credibility you had left with middle America,” one angry citizen posted on Twitter.

The day following the broadcast, Fox News host Laura Ingraham flipped out on social media, posting on Twitter that all of this legal weed business would lead to “more potheads, increase in cases of schizophrenia, psychosis, more impaired driving… as #BigWeed makes billions.”

Of course, marijuana advocates crawled out of the woodwork to chastise her for the negative comments. Many folks gave Ingraham hell for having such a narrow view of the subject, while others, including her fans, encouraged her to give legal marijuana more consideration.

“Sorry Laura, I love you & your conservative positions but pot is sooooo much safer than an unconscious, how did I get home, booze binge. I know from experience and never, ever went into a slurred & unconscious state with pot,” wrote one of her followers.

Final Hit: Did A CNN Anchor Smoke Pot on Live TV?

CNN host Anderson Cooper witnessed the broadcast unfold with the rest of the nation. He has since come out to defend his colleague.

Cooper told Stephen Colbert earlier this week that Kaye’s decision to cover the New Year’s parties with marijuana was not a problem for him. He said: “First of all, it’s legal in Colorado. We are grown adults and she did not smoke obviously. The whole thing surprised me as much as anyone else.”

The longtime CNN host later joked with Colbert about “not really” being surprised that legal marijuana was becoming increasingly widespread across the country.

“Think about California,” he said. “I mean it makes sense.”

Interestingly, Smart Approaches to Marijuana, the anti-pot legalization group that spends its days fighting a battle it has already lost, recently took to its Twitter account to ask the FCC and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate CNN’s controversial broadcast. So far, the federal government has not said whether it intends to go after the network.

Considering the risqué subject matter that makes it on network television these days, it is doubtful that any government agency would dare stand up to make noise over the segment. But to answer the question: no, Randi Kaye did not actually smoke anything on camera.