American Film Institute
Video Festival
In Amsterdam's
famed hash coffeeshops you can order coffee, tea, or...marijuana!
Are the Dutch too permissive, or have they found a peaceful, practical
alternative to the war on drugs?
CANNABIS RISING is an insider's look at the rapidly growing,
quasi-legal cannabis industry in the Netherlands and the issues
swirling around it.
Backed by a dynamic musical sound track, we follow Ed Rosenthal,
a modern Johnny Appleseed of pot, as he takes the High Road to
Holland, where you can buy marijuana in over one thousand hashcoffeeshops.
You can roll a joint or fill a pipe, sit out in the open air,
and get high. Or you can take your purchase home and enjoy it
there. And NOT get busted!
The tour ranges from the greenhouses of Sensi Seed's Cannabis
Castle; to Positronics, where you can get everything you need
to grow your own marijuana; to lush fields where large-scale hemp
production is being subsidized by the European Economic Union;
to the hash coffeeshops and hemp boutiques that dot Amsterdam.
While maintaining a light hearted approach to a very serious subject,
CANNABIS RISING explores the debate raging over medical
marijuana; the effects of prohibition and America's failed War
on Drugs; and the results of decriminalization on Dutch society.
This innovative approach to drugs is discussed by sociologists
and experts, marijuana tycoons, drug refugees from the US and
elsewhere, and other observers and participants in the Dutch experiment.
Seeing this movie is almost as good as being there!
Ed Rosenthal, our intrepid guide, was recently convicted and faces up to forty years for cultivating starter plants for use by patients using medical marijuana. He was acting as an officer of the city of Oakland under the provisions of California's Proposition 215 which legalized the use of cannabis for medical reasons.
General Ashcroft, taking a break from the War on Terror, decided to bring the full force of federal prosecution down on Ed and the whole issue of medical marijuana. Charles Breyer, the federal judge who presided, would not let the jury hear anything about medical marijuana, Prop. 215, the sanctioning of Ed's actions by the City of Oakland and the State of California, or Ed's reasoning. The judge limited the evidence to the fact that Ed had grown hundreds of plants and would not let the defence present any case as to why he had grown them. He dictated to the jury that they had to only consider what he had allowed to be put before them. And they, being conscientious citizens, returned a verdict of guilty.
Afterwards, when they realized they had been duped and bullied by Judge Breyer, many of them renounced their verdict and have appeared in solidarity with Ed at rallies, press conferences and court appearances. Ed's trial was front page news in the New York Times and even earned a "Free Ed" editorial from that paper which commented on the travesty of justice which had taken place.
To find out more about Ed's case and to see how you can help contact GreenAid
Clips from Cannabis Rising were included in NBC's Dateline Report of 2/21/03 on the Trial of Ed Rosenthal. To see more click here
35 minutes .... color ....
not rated
Links
Criminal Justice Policy Foundation
Drug Reform Coordination Network
Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies(MAPS)
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)
Reconsider: Forum on Drug Policy
Students for a Sensible Drug Policy
Unitarian Universalists for Drug Policy Reform
The Uses of Marijuana Lester Grinspoon
For more information contact:
Green Mountain Post Films
PO Box 229, Turners Falls, MA 01376
(413)863-4754 * * * Fax: (413)863-8248
email: info@gmpfilms.com