You misinterpret. First, the point isn't that marijuana use isn't important, the point is that this class of reporting is orthogonal to legal analysis. It would

You misinterpret. First, the point isn't that marijuana use isn't important, the point is that this class of reporting is orthogonal to legal analysis. It would be as if the most famous professional football players were fantastic comedians but never played ball in college. Second, a law degree is a reasonable (albeit imperfect) standard if legal analysis is desired; that it would be hard for journalists to obtain this just tells us there's no market in it. (That is, people with legal training are not rewarded.) Law degrees are also super expensive to obtain for people who just want to do legal aid, but such lawyers need the training nonetheless because they actually have to understand the law to do their job. Legal journalists do not.