Tobacco

Jray Nels's picture

The Union: the business behind getting high

Ever wonder what British Columbia's most profitable industries are? Logging? Fishing? Tourism? Ever think to include marijuana? If you haven't, think again. No longer a hobby for the stereotypical hippie culture of the ‘60s, BC's illegal marijuana trade industry has evolved into an unstoppable business giant, dubbed by those involved as 'The Union'. Commanding upwards of $7 billion Canadian annually, The Union’s roots stretch far and wide. With up to 85% of all 'BC Bud' being exported to the United States, the BC marijuana trade has become an international issue with consequences that extend far beyond our borders. When record profits are to be made, who are the players, and when do their motives become questionable?

- Why is marijuana illegal?
- What health risks do we really face?
- Does prohibition work?
- What would happen if we taxed it?
- Medicine, paper, fuel, textiles, food, etc. Are we missing something?

Follow filmmaker Adam Scorgie as he dives head first into Canada's most socially acceptable illegal activity. Along the way, Adam demystifies the underground market and brings to light how such a large industry can function while remaining illegal. By interviewing experts from around the globe, including growers, clippers, police officers, criminologists, economists, medical doctors, politicians and pop culture icons, Scorgie examines the cause and effect nature of the business behind getting high.

Nobody's innocent in this exploration of an industry that may be profiting more by being illegal. Join Adam Scorgie as he unravels the mystery of The Union.

Sihirtu Isten's picture

Britain's 20 Most Dangerous Drugs

In this BBC Documentary, a group of scientist rate 20 different drugs based on three different aspects. "One is what the drug does to the person that takes it if it stops your breathing that is a serious problem, and then there is an issue on how addictive drugs are, an addictive drug tends to led people to use more of it because they can not break the habit, and the third aspect of drug use, the third harm, group of harms come from consequences of society." - David Knott

Sihirtu Isten's picture

The Ground Truth: The Human Cost of War

This documentary discusses the negative effects war can have on your life both mentally and physically. "That’s what happened they use a personality disorder as a tool, just a tool they can label you with, then they are not held responsible." - Jimmy J. Massey

Veterans of war also discuss the reasons they joined the military.
"I am not going nowhere, I am not going to nothing, you know my friends are getting locked up so it’s just like what is the point, I mean what is the point of staying here might as well just leave, then I talked to a recruiter… it sounded good, it did it sounded good." – Robert Acosta

"But there is a way out, and I also want to tell people after being in jail there is no higher freedom that can be achieved then the freedom we achieve when we follow our conscious and that is something we can live by and never regret." - Camilo Mejia

Jray Nels's picture

Dean Ornish: Your Genes Are Not Your Fate

"Dean Ornish is a clinical professor at UCSF and founder of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute. He's a leading expert on fighting illness," and in this video, Dean discusses genetics and various natural methods of healing including: Chocolate, Tea, Blueberries, and Cannabinoids.

He claims in this film that, "our genes are not our fate, and if we make these changes that are predisposition, that if we make bigger changes than we might have otherwise, we can actually change how our genes are expressed."

Charles Clayton's picture

Stoned in Suburbia

Stoned in Suburbia is a documentary which interviews a variety of Cannabis users located in the United Kingdom. In this video, adults share their past and present experience with Cannabis and answer a variety of questions related to Cannabis.

"One of the fascinating things to me about Cannabis is thinking about deep questions about the nature of self. Who am I? What is the point of being alive? Do I have free will? It really seems to help with those questions. I feel different... less trapped inside here in the illusion of being the self, more able to realize this is all an interconnected universe." - Dr. Sue Blackmore

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Jray Nels's picture

Bill Hicks - Revelations

This is Bill Hicks' follow up show to 'Relentless', and it was recorded in 1993, at the Dominion Theatre in London, United Kingdom. Hicks talks about many issues that are fundamental to our daily life, such as our governmental and religious leaders, as well the law and debatable illegalities. In this show, Bill says, "I love talking about the Kennedy Assassination because to me, it's a great example of totalitarian government's ability to manage information, and thus, keep us in the dark, in any way they deem.. Oh sorry, wrong meeting." He claims, quite comically how, "they lie about marijuana. Tell you pot smoking makes you unmotivated, lie! When your high you can do everything you normally could do just as well, you just realize it's not worth the fuckin' effort... there is a difference."

Bill states his understandings of, "Fundamentalist Christians, who believe that the Bible is the exact word of god, including that whacky fire and brimstone revelations ending... These people actually believe that the world is 12,000 years old." The majority of Bill Hicks' content in this stand-up, consists of fresh, and perceptible material, as he questions the very foundations of our time.

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Bill Hicks - Profile

William 'Bill' Hicks was born on December 16th, 1961 in Valdosta, Georgia. After moving several times as a young boy, Bill settled down in Houston, where his interest in performing stand-up comedy originated. After writing and effectively presenting his own skits at local clubs, Bill and some of his childhood friends, including filmmaker Kevin Booth, decided to move to LA to pursue a career in stand-up.

"Bill’s comedy (despite his own claims to the contrary) was not about hate or pessimism. Bill was an unabashed optimist. He believed that most people were good at heart but evil forces were deliberately distracting us all from creating a better world using television, lies, tobacco and alcohol as opiates. Bill felt a revolution of thought was coming and that it was his duty, as an emissary of the truth, to bring whatever light he could to anyone who would listen. This blunt, straightforward expression of these ideas could cause clashes with less enlightened, unsuspecting audiences. The result was sometimes dangerous; Bill had his ankle broken and a gun was pointed at him on stage. Despite these experiences, he refused to compromise his material and soldiered on." - Billhicks.com

"His last gig was on January 6, 1994 at Caroline’s in New York City – he did not complete the series of shows... Despite his illness, Bill was at peace. He spent time with his parents, playing them the music he loved and showing them documentaries about his interests. He called friends to say goodbye and re-read J.R.R. Tolkein’s Fellowship Of The Rings... On Saturday, February 26th, 1994, Bill died. He was 32."

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Grass: The History of Marijuana

This documentary is about the history of marijuana and human-use, claiming that, "people have been smoking marijuana for thousands of years." This film begins with the introduction of Harry J. Ansliger, explaining that, "instead of treating drug addiction as a public-health problem, the federal government put control of these drugs in the hands of the Treasury Department, who created the Federal Bureau of Narcotics." From 1937 to 1947, the Federal Government issued 220 million dollars for the 'War on Marijuana'. Anslinger would, "shape America's attitude toward marijuana for generations to come."

"Last year in this country, there were 226,000 marijuana related arrests ... The fact is, that only 7% of those arrests were against the 'seller'. 93% of those arrests were for possession and use. Now, what that means is that there were about 200,000 young people in this country last year, who were given an unnecessary criminal record ... Simply because they smoked grass, something which is a relatively harmless thing to do. So, we're not trying to encourage use of the drug, we're actually trying to discourage it. But, we're trying to get the country to understand that there are other means to discourage the use of drugs, other than the Criminal Law, and in this case, the use of the Criminal Law causes more harm than the drug itself." - Keith Stroup (Founder - National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws)

By examining the instruments of law that have lead to cannabis prohibition, such as the El Paso Ordinance of 1914 and Narcotic Control Act, this program is able to demonstrate why, "the orderly thing to do, under our form of Government, is to abolish a law which cannot be enforced, a law which the people of the country do not want enforced."

Charles Clayton's picture

Ayahuasca Detox

Ayahuasca Detox documents the traditional experience of using Ayahuasca for Shamanic purposes. "In the heart of the amazon rainforest a journalist Tony Wilson, model Jo Guest, and actress Mina Anwar are about to take part in three ceremonies where they will drink Ayahuasca, a potent herbal brew used for centuries by the local people to physically and mentally heal." In this documentary each participant gives a detailed description of their experience and provides an explanation as to wether Ayahuasca had healing or medicinal value.

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American Drug War: The Last White Hope (Trailer)

In 1971, President Richard Nixon declared the War on Drugs, and 35 years later, "over a million non-violent drug offenders live behind bars." In this quality documentary, Kevin Booth describes his understanding of the explicit agendas and profits behind the War on Drugs in the United States of America, "The drug war is a perfect continuing example of why we will never win the War on Terrorism. Because it captures the ineffectiveness of the U.S. government, and it captures the fact that its being used against poor people and not against the people who benefit most from drugs, which are the bankers that launder the money." - Robert Steele, CIA Clandestine Officer

"In 1972 when Richard Nixon started War on drugs, the Federal budget allocation was 101 million dollars. Going into fiscal year 2000 the Federal budget allocation was 20 Billion dollars. Yet there were more drugs in the country in 2000, and they were of better quality and they were less expensive than they were in 1972. What's wrong with that picture?" - Mike Ruppert Former LAPD

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