Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Don't Be a Dope: Quit Paying for Weed

I've seen hundreds of hours of footage on the subject of marijuana, hemp, weed, chong, ganj/ganja, sensi/sensimilla, endo, cannabis, herb, bud, nugs, the dank, tetrahydrocannabinol. This is by far the best documentary on the subject: The Union. The Business Behind Getting High. I always rate the sublime greatness of something based on the enthusiasm with which I say to myself, "Dang. I wish I did that." or "There was the documentary I would have made if I ever had the sack to attempt to try to think about herding all the quicksilver in my brain." I learn something new every time I watch it, which sparks an interest to pursue a new line of research every time.

The Union: The Business Behind Getting High (from wikipedia)

Synopsis

The film explores the illegal growth, sale and trafficking of marijuana. Its theatrical run was limited to film festivals. The film follows host Adam Scorgie as he examines the underground market, interviewing growers, police officers, criminologists, economists, doctors, politicians and pop culture icons, revealing how the industry can function despite being a criminal enterprise. The history of marijuana and the reasons for its present prohibition are discussed, often comparing it to the prohibition of alcohol in the United States in the 1930s, suggesting that gang drug warfare and other negative aspects associated with marijuana are a result of prohibition, not the drug itself. The gangs that grow and traffic the drugs are likened to those that appeared in major U.S. cities during the Prohibition, with the intention of profiting from the sale of illegal alcohol.

I'm not going to tell you how to spend your time, but this is great background music for obnoxious domestic chores. The narrator has a sexy Canadian accent, Joe Rogan is funny and articulate (and actually weirdly sexy), Dr. Lester Grinspoon is an effing legend, and if you never knew about the industry of privatized prisons, prepare to be disgusted. Pharmaceuticals, politics, paper, and pretense are all interconnected to defy the laws of what's reasonable. Further, industrial hemp is an economical and environmental panacea much like the medicinal flower of the plant can mitigate many physical ailments when the appropriate preparation of the herb is administered. And holy ganjamole, you have got to appreciate the McGuyveresque ingenuity of a the train-car growers. Ten interconnected train cars all lined up like the girls in Madeline, a diesel tanker to power the generators, and a mountaintop underground grow op of epic proportions. Politics, pot smoke, and prohibition. Not to mention a stigma on a substance that will never kill you. Eh, and don't even talk to me about Watermelon Girl. She beat me to the kitchen. Tommy Chong makes an appearance, which warms my cockles because of my personal favorite slang term for the precious jewel in the eye of the stalk. Greg, the MS patient at the end, will break your heart. It's hard to sit through his segment the first time.

I don't care if you're a cancer/hospice/aids patient, a recreational user of chong, a closet stoner, or one of those people who thinks you get all paranoid from it [I guarantee you, you're taking it wrong, you're smoking some horrible shit that was commercially grown that you bought on the street and is probably covered in toxic pesticides, or it interferes with all those prescription drugs and booze that you're taking and makes you dopey mcdumbags.] But if you're an insomniac, a jittery skitter bug, a borderline personality bi-polar trainwreck, or a benzo enthusiast, you'll pop a pretty silly pilly to make whatever it is all go away, doctor's orders. Bah. Doubt you ever mention the couple of drinks you couple that with to take the edge off.

I'm no pioneer on the subject, but I do have a different voice, a different perspective, and a lot of personal experience with both cannabis and pharmaceuticals to cure that which may or may not ail you. But if you're buying your secretly consumed marijuana on the street and paying the equivalent of hundreds of dollars per ounce (no matter how much you consume), you're a moron. In some states, one ounce of street-procured marijuana is worth more than gold (whuuuuut the fuuuuuck?). In 14 states, you can get it for practically free (or buy it in some states) and legally, support your local economy (as opposed to criminals) in the process, and quit hiding your right to informed consent. How?

We're just getting started.

The Union is the class syllabus, the impetus, the call to all my past resignations and the springboard for sharing what I know about an ancient plant and how you can benefit from its legalization whether you choose to consume it or not. Watch it. I promise it won't make you dumber.

9 comments:

Staci Magnolia said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Staci Magnolia said...

Did I mention I'd have gone to the 'real' doctor but I am one of those thousands with a full-time job yet sans health insurance.....

Anonymous said...

Hi! I live in one of the legal states, but I'm wondering what you mean that you can get it for practically free... I can buy it at a dispensary, but it's pricy (so much more expensive - yet so much more effective - than anything covered by my health care prescription plan.)

Also, YOU ROCK.

Anonymous said...

thanks. it is one of my favorite subjects. Even if I DO take it wrong. :D
L,
jacks

Anonymous said...

AMEN said the choir.....

scarlett said...

About to instant stream The Union before I go to bed tonight. awesome i'm sure. Wish the state I lived in would jump on board.

Anonymous said...

The Union is "instant play" on Netflix . it was THE suggestion on my page from them last night. Even Netflix knows it is one of my fav subjects!
Nice to see the triplets, btw.'love,
jacks

Anonymous said...

Caine went to Hemp Con today. I wish you would email me. :0
jacks

Anonymous said...

I re-watched
"Grass" a docu that focuses more on the crime side of making cannabis illegal. I first saw it late in the 90's or in 2000. It is narrated by Woody Harrelson and is also good.
It is available as an instant Play on Netflix.
One can never consume too much information.
jacks