WEED 4: Pot Vs Pills

The Botany of Desire(en)

Featuring Michael Pollan and based on his best-selling book, this special takes viewers on an exploration of the human relationship with the plant world — seen from the plants' point of view. Narrated by Frances McDormand, the program shows how four familiar species — the apple, the tulip, marijuana and the potato — evolved to satisfy our yearnings for sweetness, beauty, intoxication.

How Weed Won the West(en)

While California is going bankrupt, one business is booming. "How Weed Won the West" is the story of the growing medical cannabis / marijuana industry in the greater Los Angeles area, with over 700 dispensaries doling out the buds. As a treatment for a wide range of conditions, cannabis is quickly proving itself as a healthier natural alternative to many prescription drugs.

Goose Lake International Music Festival(en)

The Goose Lake International Music Festival held August 7–9, 1970 in Leoni Township, Michigan, "was one of the largest music events of its era", and featured many of the top rock music bands of the period. Songs performed include: Savage Grace - All Along The Watchtower, John Sebastian - Darling Be Home Soon, Harmonica Solo - Teegarden & Van Winkle, Ten Years After - Sweet Little Sixteen, The Stooges - 1970, Mountain - Ain't Got A Dime Jam, Mississippi Queen.

Pay-Off In Pain(en)

The personal and social tragedy of drug addiction with its evil accompaniment, drug traffic. Over the side of the silent liner in the darkness slips the package of smuggled narcotics, introducing us to the complex problem which involves all races and classes of man. We see many aspects of addiction - the addict preparing an injection, a group waiting tensely for their dope peddler; agents preparing and adulterating the illegal product; the police catching a pusher red-handed. International and national authorities are working from two angles - suppression of the illicit traffic; and where possible, rehabilitation of the addict.

Woodstock(en)

An intimate look at the Woodstock Music & Art Festival held in Bethel, NY in 1969, from preparation through cleanup, with historic access to insiders, blistering concert footage, and portraits of the concertgoers; negative and positive aspects are shown, from drug use by performers to naked fans sliding in the mud, from the collapse of the fences by the unexpected hordes to the surreal arrival of National Guard helicopters with food and medical assistance for the impromptu city of 500,000.

Super High Me(en)

Determined to find out the true effects of marijuana on the human body, stand-up comedian and former Stoner of the Year Doug Benson documents his experience avoiding pot for 30 days and then consuming massive amounts of the drug for 30 days. More than just an amusing story of one man's quest to get superhigh, this documentary also examines the hotly contested debate over medical marijuana use.

Mr. Untouchable(en)

The true-life story of a Harlem's notorious Nicky Barnes, a junkie turned multimillionaire drug-lord. Follow his life story from his rough childhood to the last days of his life.

Aphrodisiac: The Love Secret(en)

A documentary examining the use of marijuana by young people in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Included are interviews with people who regularly use marijuana and testify to its beneficial effects as an aphrodisiac and scenes of nude encounter groups, instructions for making marijuana brownies, soldiers in Vietnam smoking marijuana, etc.

Grass(en)

Marijuana is the most controversial drug of the 20th Century. Smoked by generations to little discernible ill effect, it continues to be reviled by many governments on Earth. In this Genie Award-winning documentary veteran Canadian director Ron Mann and narrator Woody Harrelson mix humour and historical footage together to recount how the United States has demonized a relatively harmless drug.

AKA Tommy Chong(en)

Documentary about Tommy Chong's federal prosecution under the Bush administration for selling bongs over the Internet.

Rok konopí(cs)

The Distant Drummer: Bridge from No Place(en)

This film describes the 1960s drug culture. Addicts discuss their experiences in the United States and in Vietnam. Dr. Stanley Yolles, director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), talks about the drug culture and the NIMH role in prevention and treatment. The tape describes growth in the use of marijuana and heroin. In 1966, the Narcotic Addict Rehabilitation Act is the first law to give the addict a choice of treatment or jail. Synanon in California is a private, self-help, residential community that helps people deal with their addictions. New York's Daytop Village works not only with addicts on addictions, but on developing a new lifestyle. Methadone, though still experimental, has proved to be an effective treatment for heroin addiction.

Comic Book Confidential(en)

A survey of the artistic history of the comic book medium and some of the major talents associated with it.

High There(en)

Hunter S. Thompson meets Barry McKenzie in this dark nonfiction comedy about a real-life, legendary but down-and-out tabloid television journalist who heads to Hawaii to film a marijuana travel series, only to become lost in a fog of drugs, sex and paranoia as he uncovers a secret government war to control the marijuana trade. - Written by Sam Peters

Cypress Hill: Smoke Out(en)

Celebrating music and marijuana, the all-day Smoke Out Festival features blazing performances from a wide range of bands and musicians -- from punk rock to hip-hop -- as captured in this 2002 fifth annual concert. Circle Jerks, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Everlast and concert organizers Cypress Hill are just some of the eclectic artists included in this event's lineup. Snoop Dogg performs several of his hits, including "Murder Was the Case."

Drug Addiction(en)

Marty, a "good boy," experiments with marijuana and experiences "profound mental and emotional disturbances." As in all anti-drug films of this vintage, marijuana leads straight to "H," and Marty's decline continues until he is busted, rehabbed and reformed. Drug Addiction's stilted view of the urban drug culture and unrealistic portrayals of stoned slackers make it entertaining viewing today. It belongs to that little-known "second wave" of anti-drug films, the postwar scare stories about middle-class kids overcome by junkiedom. What this wave of films reveals is that drugs were an issue for white adolescents long before the psychedelic Sixties, and that the official response to the threat expressed a general, not specifically targeted paranoia.

Chronic-Con, Episode 420: A New Dope(en)

In response to Morgan Spurlock's COMIC-CON: A FAN'S HOPE, comedian Doug Benson (SUPER HIGH ME) stars in this doc that looks at San Diego Comic-Con from his hazy perspective. Featuring fellow pot and film fanatics Kevin Smith, Brian Posehn, Joe Rogan and even Spurlock himself, it's a fun look at a rapidly growing cultural event.

Narcotics: A Challenge to Youth(en)

An educational film sponsored and distributed by the Los Angeles-based Narcotic Educational Foundation of America and directed by Gilbert Lasky with financial assistance of the Woman’s Relief Corps targets teachers as well as junior and senior high school students in the war on drugs. Narcotics are classified and effects of opiates, stimulants, and barbiturates are summarized and dramatized

Emperor of Hemp(en)

This documentary chronicles the life of Jack Herer and his struggle for awareness and enlightenment of cannabis sativa, a.k.a. marijuana or hemp. His research into this plant culminates in his writing The Emperor Wears No Clothes: The Official Hemp Bible. He has dedicated his life to educating people about the history and many utilizations of hemp, the conspiracy against it, and ending marijuana prohibition.

Cannabis vs. Cancer(en)

A look at the people who use and champion the treatment of cancer with Cannabis.