| The Union is a Canadian documentary that looks at all facets of marijuana use, growth, distribution, legality, etc. I feel like it is one of the best marijuana documentaries there is out there. It crushes a lot of the myths surrounding marijuana use, for example, the idea that marijuana kills brain cells. This myth was based off of a study involving monkeys, where the monkeys ingested marijuana and not only were brain cells lost, but many of them almost died. This study was misleading for many years as the people who conducted the study did release the methods they used for years. It was eventually revealed that the monkeys wore gas masks that injected a large amount of marijuana, the equivalent to smoking several joints at a once, the problem with this was that it suffocated them for approximately 5 mins, when it only takes 4 mins of suffocation to kill brain cells. In reality, marijuana has never been showed to kill brain cells, and to this date, with marijuana use spanning the course of over 10,000 years, not one death has come from using marijuana. The film also discusses the legality of substances such as alcohol and tobacco, which the latter receives large subsidies from the government. Both of these substances have proven to be addictive, lethal, and cancerous, yet they still remain legal. The documentary than goes onto show, discuss and overview the growing and selling of marijuana in British Columbia and everything that goes into it economically, from the real estate agents selling houses to the growers to the dealers in Miami receiving the marijuana to sell to their local market. The documentary than goes on to discuss the morality of making marijuana illegal as well as the unjust prosecution that has come from the legality of marijuana. Many people have been incarcerated because of marijuana, I personally have friends that have been incarcerated due to marijuana, and they are some of the nicest people you have ever met. The documentary finishes off with the many uses and potential that marijuana has, such as through the cultivation of hemp for paper, clothing, and many more products. It also goes into detail of the positive effects on the economy and society that legalizing marijuana would have. Marijuana legalization is both a social and economic issue that must be addressed, and I feel as though this documentary conveys that very well. |