Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Truth about Weed, Hemp and Marijuana

Hemp Revolution part 1 of 2
Hemp Revolution part 2 of 2
39:04

This documentary covers a whole lot of ground. It deals with every historical and contemporary aspect of hemp usage and cultivation (mainly in the U.S.), which turns out to be a lot. From describing the production of a fibre much more durable and economic than wood, the documentary discusses hemps multilateral uses as e.g. food products, as a non-polluting fuel and as a pharmaceutical product with much less griveous sideeffects than chemical pharmaceutical products. The film also investigates why America went from a country which produced vast quantities of the non-narcotic industrial hemp, to the complete ban on hemp production in 1938. This story in particular is interesting, and it points out that the large oilbased industries actually had a key role in the aforementioned ban. Food for thought! The conclusion of the documentary could be that hemp may prove to be a valid alternative to both oil and wood in the future.



Video Google
Hemp For Victory
13:42

Hemp for Victory is a black-and-white film produced in 1942 by the USDA outlining a plan to distribute 400,000 lbs. of cannabis seeds to American farmers with the goal of producing 350,000 acres of cannabis by 1943 -- all for the war effort. The USDA even went as far as to urge 4-H clubs to grow at least half an acre, but preferably 2 acres of cannabis. All American farmers were required to see the film, sign a paper saying that they had viewed the film, and read a booklet on the matter. Farmers who agreed were waived from serving in the military, and all their family members were also exempt. They received farm equipment at a discounted price, and sometimes for free. However, before and after the war -- the same plant was considered "demon weed" and the killer of the same kids that were pressed into service to grow it during the war. Furthermore, the USDA and Library of Congress denied the creation or existence of such a film until 2 copies were found and sent in to the Library of Congress. Talk about hypocrisy.



In Pot We Trust
1:27:41

The medical use of marijuana is examined from every side of a very complex issue with this documentary that charts the suffering of four chronically ill patients whose reliance on the illegal drug as a pain killer is in jeopardy due to federal anti-narcotic legislation. Reform organizations, prohibitionist groups, politicians, drug war critics, scientists, and celebrities all get their say in this fascinating analysis.



The Cannabis Years
41:31

This Brittish documentary traces television and the wider media's reactions to cannabis, from the hysterical vilification of the drug in the 1930s, the punitive measures of the stop and search laws and prison sentences for possession, to the more considered debates now taking place and the real possibility of a change in the law. The story is told through programme clips from the BBC archives, newspaper headlines and interviews. It covers the high profile star busts of the 60s and 70s (when people like Tony Curtis, Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney were taken to court) major drug hauls, science programmes, youth culture and politics. Comments on pot by Chicho Marx, Norman Mailer, Mick Jagger, Dennis Hopper and Shirley MacLaine among many others.

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