Grass: The History of Marijuana
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Grass: The History of Marijuana

1999, Drugs  -   27 Comments
8.00
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Ratings: 8.00/10 from 35 users.

Marijuana is the most controversial drug of the twentieth century. Smoked by generations of musicians, students and workers to little discernible ill effect, it continues to be reviled by the vast majority of governments around the world.

With his new film, Grass, veteran filmmaker Ron Mann brings his impeccable historical facility and story telling skills to recount how a relatively harmless drug has been demonized for decades.

With a rueful yet incisive script, deft editing and an impressive soundtrack featuring original songs by Mark Mothersbaugh and a veritable potpourri of tunes ranging from the Swing Era's "Reefer Man" through Dylan's "Rainy Day Women" to the hippie lament "One Toke Over The Line," Ron Mann's Grass boasts extraordinary production values.

Funny yet political, Grass charts the terrible loss in imprisoned lives and billions of dollars wasted fighting a drug that refuses to go away.

Directed by: Ron Mann

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An
An
8 years ago

Dronabinol, the active ingredient in MARINOL® capsules, is a synthetic analogue of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9-THC).

Dronabinol analog Nabilone is another synthetic THC prescription drug marketed under the name Cesamet.

Since they do not have any moderating CBD or any of the other 100 or so other cannabinols or their calming entourage effects. Marinol and Cessamet are very unpleasant to consume, as they can cause instant toxicological psychotic behavior in volunteers injected with it

Marinol has unpleasant side effects - as can be expected from a pill that is 99 percent THC. An April 1986 product insert from Roxane warned that Marinol elicits "disturbing psychiatric symptoms," and that even patients on low doses might experience "a full-blown picture of psychosis." The latter phrase has disappeared from recent product inserts, but experts say nothing has changed.

Nabilone is manufactured by Eli Lilly under the trade name Cesamet; its active ingredient is hexahydro-cannabinol. By 1978, the drug was being tested on cancer patients, and Lilly officials were predicting FDA approval within a year. "They had it on double-tracking with humans and animals," Randall says, "until suddenly, dogs on Nabilone started having convulsions and dropping dead."

People who take Marinol, on the other hand, frequently complain about the "disturbing psychiatric symptoms" that are common side effects of the drug. According to a 1985 edition of The Medical Letter, the side effects of Marinol are "disorientation, depression, paranoia, hallucinations and manic psychosis."

The 1992 product insert for Marinol scatters these symptoms throughout the section marked ADVERSE REACTIONS ("amnesia," "depersonalization," "hallucination," "paranoid reaction," "depression"), but saves psychosis for a passing reference in the section called OVERDOSAGE: "Patients experiencing depressive, hallucinatory or psychotic reactions should be placed in a quiet area and offered reassurance."

Phil Seitzer
Phil Seitzer
8 years ago

Is that narrator Woody Haralson

peternel
peternel
11 years ago

its all because they want our freedom

Alexandru Matei
Alexandru Matei
11 years ago

Not a bad documentary after all.

Crystal Diamond
Crystal Diamond
12 years ago

kitil kitevski well marinol is just pure thc its not synthetic

Kiril Kitevski
Kiril Kitevski
12 years ago

When will the media explain to the american people what the real reason as to why cannibis is illegal. Pharmacutical companies lobby billions of dollars to prevent cannibis from becoming legal because they stand to lose everything. Funny how there is a synthetic cannibis pill, Marinol, it has the same side effects as merijuana and its used to treat nausea, vomiting, appetite loss, and more but since its sold at you local CVS and Walgreens its all legal, when will people notice how crazy this all sounds....

emvoneuw
emvoneuw
12 years ago

I love cannabis.

Angel Jayy
Angel Jayy
13 years ago

Hemp and marajuana can be used to fuel your car which produces less toxins in the air. It can be used to reproduce many things like paper that we are cutting down trees for, stopping deforestation. It can be used as food, medicine and even clothes. All kinds of ailments are cured or aided by marajauna, you can also make lotions and butter for skin ailments with it. Yet the government won't let us have our plants because they can't find a good way to tax it. Like this if you agree that this is the mosty redunkulous reason ever to kill the Earth and our citizens??? ~Angel Jayy~

toddy
toddy
13 years ago

This documentary plainly shows how a well told lie becomes truth in the ears of the listener if it is done long enough. well those who have tried it know the truth. I kind of wonder if the money spent over the years to combat the use of marijuana was applied to universal health care instead we would not be having this very debate right now( and we would be a nation of very healthy people), or put to the use of feeding our needy. Let who ever reads this say in a post on how it has helped themselves or someone they know in a medical way or how it has harmed them then lets see the winner of the posts. I'll start by saying it has helped me with insomia( i fall asleep quicker and stay asleep without the vivid dreams waking me up) and also with the occasional bout of hemmeroids( it tones down the inflammation rather quickly more so than preperation-H does).

weasle
weasle
13 years ago

wicked why are our gov doin this to themselfs and us free the weed

yermomdidit
yermomdidit
14 years ago

...I prefer beer, but it is an interesting point (Catdagger1) that our country spends so much on what may as well be a perpetual-motion-machine, meanwhile: our schools are sufferring and books are being banned and removed from reading lists. Everything in excess is bad for you...including the imposition of laws and waste of tax revenue that we are supposed to , as a whole, decide what is the best way to spend it.

tim
tim
14 years ago

Catdagger1 Perfect.! use it dont abuse it lol

Catdagger1
Catdagger1
14 years ago

What a freaking joke, America home of the free. I can think of a thousand better uses for all that money thats spent on the supossed war against dope lmao. How about we start with education, make it leagal, control it, tax it, and offer treatment for addicts that want and need it. Then with all the left over money lets feed and house our less fortunate folks. Ohh I forgot, that would be the responcible thing to do, and the fat cats would not be able to make any money doing the right thing. OK then lets just put all of our drug users, including alcolhol drinkers, and cigerrett smokers to death. There problem solved.

dannyboy
dannyboy
14 years ago

how bout we order chineas? order chineas to do what? lol

Insomniac
Insomniac
14 years ago

Whats with the drugfreeworld.org add on this page? ^^

FiveOh
FiveOh
14 years ago

When you get right down to it, most of the supporters of marijuana know from first hand experience that it's harmless, whereas the people bashing it know f*ck all except what they've heard.

nixie
nixie
14 years ago

free the weed

pot will be legal if enough people refuse to conform

Infinity
Infinity
14 years ago

Nice one Mazzy

mazzy
mazzy
14 years ago

"Do me a favor, if you believe that drugs have not done good things for us...go home tonight and take all of your tapes and all of your CDs and BURN THEM. You want to know why? All of those artists and all of those musicians who made all of that great music, that has enhanced your lives through out the years...r r r r r rrrrRRRRRRRRRRRREAL f*ckin' high on drugs!" -Bill Hicks

Infinity
Infinity
14 years ago

Marijuana is illegal because it would destroy the oil industry and the pharmeceutical industry overnight if it was legalised. It has a wide range of uses not least of which is the fact that THC9, one of the main active ingredients, can cause remission of tumours when injected directly into the bloodstream, as discovered during the 70's. Of course it will never be legalised, why would corrupt governments legalise a panecea that you can grow for free in your backyard? There have been NO recorded deaths from Marijuana, unlike alcohol, the most socially destructive drug on the planet, BAR NONE.

mr bean
mr bean
14 years ago

hey weed should be legal its natural and therfore should be legal i am 30 and i have been smoking since 13 yrs old iv have a job a farm and a n autoshop tell me wat could be bad about weed legalize it dont critisize it peter tosh say so

Platoson
Platoson
15 years ago

This is just hilarious! I cannot believe that people in the US actually believed such crap about grass.

The Police chief (Bob Conland, commander of detective bureau of narcotics)calling weed smokers sick, as he puffs away at his cigarette, obviously does know that far more people die each year of cigarettes than marijuana.

Another idiot says China under the nationalistic govt had the situation pretty much under control with a thousand executions a year.

Life imprisonment for possession of marijuana? A Vietnam Vet and war hero getting 50 years? Just plain ridiculous and how in the hell can smoking weed undermine national security?

An excellent documentary that shows just how corrupt the US government is and how they lie to their public on a continual basis.

holdapipe
holdapipe
15 years ago

Weed rocks, f*** Nixon and Bush!

grifsta
grifsta
15 years ago

wtf the first guys a f**, the second guy doesn't know what the f*** he's talking about and the third guys a nerd. From a stoners point of view that movie was awesome in every way man f*** the rest of you

Muze226
Muze226
15 years ago

I disagree! We need documentaries like this, so that the public can be informed & learn from the past! Perhaps you were expecting them to bash marijuana & confirm the public's general idea that it is inherently evil, or bad? Maybe you were looking for a trippy stoner film? I don't use marijuana, but I think it's important to learn about things like this, because there are untapped uses of cannabis, especially from the medical perspective! The public needs to be informed, so that people can begin to take their time & develop their own opinions, instead of just believing everything that's spoon fed to them!

GREAT FILM! Very informative & worth the watch if you're looking to learn from the past!

paula
paula
15 years ago

for a really great documentary on marijuana watch "The Union: The Business Behind Getting High"

Me
Me
15 years ago

This movie was garbage. Who wants to watch a documentary on a waste of tax dollars and foolish presidents. Might as well watch Dum and Dummererer.