In the heart of America there is a drug revolution underway. The country is battling a teenage cannabis epidemic. Now the state of Colorado is legalizing marijuana. America’s Stoned Kids: This World, BBC 2013
The use of medical marijuana is becoming increasingly common across the country. ibid.
Cannabis is a promising business opportunity. ibid.
The countdown begins as one city decides whether dispensaries stay or go. American Weed I: Marijuana Drama, 2012
Bubba Kush is high in Cannabidiol [CBD], a chemical thought to slow cancer growth. ibid.
Sativa strains of marijuana are generally considered to result in an energetic high. ibid.
Patients must have a doctor-approved red card to buy medical marijuana. ibid.
Dispensaries in Fort Collins outnumber Starbucks two to one. ibid.
There are 89,000 marijuana patients in Colorado, up 4500% since 2007. ibid.
An ounce of Colorado medical marijuana costs an average of $350. ibid.
Growing indoors, it takes 3-4 months until marijuana plants can be harvested. ibid.
There are more than 1,000 strains of marijuana, each with different properties. American Weed II: Weed-Jacked!
A ‘Yes’ vote for 300 will ban marijuana dispensaries in Fort Collins. ibid.
Patients can grow up to six plants in their home legally. ibid.
Most banks won’t let dispensaries open accounts due to federal regulations. ibid.
Vaporising heats the marijuana to over 176 degrees Celsius, releasing a clear steam. ibid.
Some people in Fort Collins oppose the sale of medical marijuana. American Weed III: War Over Weed
Dispensaries in Colorado are required to grow at least 70% of what they sell. ibid.
In less than two weeks Fort Collins will decide on ballot initiative 300 – whether dispensaries will be forced to shut down. The vote will be close. American Weed IV: Buds on the Ballot
Seizures are one of eight conditions that qualify patients for medical marijuana in Colorado. ibid.
CO2 is pumped into the greenhouse to stimulate plant growth. ibid.
The buds, not the leaves, hold most of marijuana’s psychoactive ingredient THC. ibid.
Twenty dispensaries that will be shut down. ibid.
Afghan Skunk is a hybrid strain, containing both Indica and Sativa. ibid.
Hazes are potent strains of marijuana with high levels of THC. ibid.
It’s election day at Fort Collins. American Weed V: Pot or Not?
There are more than 8,000 medical marijuana patients in the Fort Collins area. ibid.
Patients are permitted to possess up to two ounces of marijuana in Colorado. ibid.
30% of red card holders are women. ibid.
Yes 54%, No 46% for banned. ibid.
Dispensaries will close within 90 days. ibid.
The Stanleys still have medical marijuana centres in Denver and Colorado Springs. American Weed VI: Marijuana Under Fire
It’s illegal for Colorado patients to possess over 2 ounces of dry marijuana product. ibid.
Some studies suggest cannabidiol, a compound of marijuana, may slow cancer growth. ibid.
At his Denver store Josh gets shocking news about a federal crackdown on dispensaries. ibid.
Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the chemical in marijuana that causes the High. ibid.
Our worst fears have been realised: Fort Collins banned us. Josh Spencer, dispensary owner
Our worst fears have been realised. Josh Spencer
The recommendation of the commission in its first report is that we do not feel that private use or private possession in one’s own home should have the stigma of criminalisation. Raymond P Shafer, chairman National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse
Is marijuana addictive? Yes, in the sense that most of the really pleasant things in life are worth endlessly repeating. Richard Neville
Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself; and where they are, they should be changed. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against possession of marijuana in private for personal use ... Therefore, I support legislation amending Federal law to eliminate all Federal criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce [28g] of marijuana. Jimmy Carter
They've outlawed the number one vegetable on the planet. Timothy Leary
If the words ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’ don't include the right to experiment with your own consciousness, then the Declaration of Independence isn’t worth the hemp it was written on. Terence McKenna
40 million Americans smoked marijuana; the only ones who didn’t like it were Judge Ginsberg, Clarence Thomas and Bill Clinton. Jay Leno
One’s condition on marijuana is always existential. One can feel the importance of each moment and how it is changing one. One feels one's being, one becomes aware of the enormous apparatus of nothingness – the hum of a hi-fi set, the emptiness of a pointless interruption, one becomes aware of the war between each of us, how the nothingness in each of us seeks to attack the being of others, how our being in turn is attacked by the nothingness in others. Norman Mailer
When a private enterprise fails, it is closed down; when a government enterprise fails, it is expanded. Isn’t that exactly what’s been happening with drugs? Milton Friedman
Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country. Thomas Jefferson
Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere. George Washington
When I was a kid I inhaled frequently. That was the point. Barack Obama
When you return to this mundane sphere from your visionary world, you would seem to leave a Neapolitan spring for a Lapland winter – to quit paradise for earth – heaven for hell! Taste the hashish, guest of mine – taste the hashish! Alexander Dumas
Let me get to the point
Let’s roll another joint
Turn the radio loud
I’m too alone to be proud. Tom Petty, You Don't Know How It Feels
Federal law still applies. And federal officials will continue to apply the law. Janet Reno, US attorney general
Marijuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding: The Official Report of the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse. Nixon’s Committee report
To reveal what smoking cannabis really does to your brain. Drugs Live: Cannabis on Trial, Channel 4 2015
Two million people in the United Kingdom smoke cannabis every year. ibid.
Marijuana leads to homosexuality ... and therefore to AIDS. Carlton Turner, White House Drug Czar 1986
I’m in South Africa – a source of our most used illegal drug: cannabis. Stacey Dooley: The Cannabis Smugglers, BBC 2015
Swaziland is notorious for growing stronger weed. ibid.
Nyaope is a mix of cannabis and heroin. This often cut with HIV drugs, rat poison and other toxic substances. ibid.
It’s estimated that 15% of South Africans have a drug addiction. ibid.