By: Gaby Sandor
For those of us who use cannabis, often our love for the plant goes beyond consumption – we want other parts of our lives to reflect this appreciation!
Whether it be following cannabis Instagram accounts, reading cannabis magazines, or watching cannabis movies and documentaries, the love is there.
Below you’ll find ten documentaries that you have to watch, so roll yourself a little something, and get comfortable.
Weed the People
Made by two female filmmakers, this documentary focuses on children who utilize cannabis as cancer treatment. Weed the People focuses on the obstacles that these parents or guardians have to go through to access the adequate medicine for their children. This documentary is a serious look into how cannabis’ illegality makes the lives of these children all the more difficult.
Mary Janes: The Women of Weed
Mary Janes explores the key positions women hold in the cannabis industry. The film includes interviews with many different women involved in cannabis, or “puffragettes.” Much like many of the other films in this list, Mary Janes explores how the legalization of cannabis intersects with pressing social justice issues, but strictly from these women’s point of view.
Grass is Greener
This 2019 Netflix film, directed by Fab 5 Freddy, dives deep into the complexity of America’s relationship to cannabis. Focusing on cannabis’ own racialized history, beginning in the 1920s, host Fab 5 Freddy follows cannabis’ split trajectory. Cannabis booms in the mainstream, but it’s tie to racism cannot be understated. Grass is Greener is an excellent option for those who want to take a more critical look at cannabis’ present moment.
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The God Plant
This documentary presents a general overview of the cannabis plant, beginning with cannabis’ history and its integral role throughout different cultures of the world. The God Plant investigates how a plant that has a variety of uses and can effectively treat many different diseases can still be illegal. Not to mention, the title of the documentary can most certainly describe how many of us feel about the plant!
The Culture High
This film provides another deep dive into the role of marijuana prohibition within the War on Drugs. The Culture High focuses on such political aspects like the effects that marijuana criminalization has had on communities of color, or how enforcing cannabis prohibition has cost the U.S government millions of dollars. This movie, much like many of the other docs, is not for the faint of heart.
Clearing the Smoke
The Science of Cannabis focuses on just that, the science of the cannabis plant. This documentary gets back to the basics – instead of a political or cultural look at marijuana, Clearing the Smoke investigates the properties of the plant and how cannabis interacts with the brain and the body. If you’re interested in the science behind cannabis, then this doc is for you.
Grass
This documentary follows the history of the U.S government’s war on cannabis and the role of anti-marijuana propaganda. The movie is almost entirely composed of archival footage – Grass is an excellent option if you’re interested in viewing this propaganda, and seeing how its affected this generation and previous generations’ understanding of cannabis.
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Bong Appétit
Bong Appétit, a VICELAND series, follows various chefs as they prepare full meals entirely infused with cannabis. The hosts recruit chefs from a variety of different restaurants and cuisines – they’ve covered everything from Filipino, Italian, Thai, Korean, Cuban, to vegan cuisine. Perfect for those of us who love to combine our weed and our food.
Weediquette
Weediquette, another VICELAND series, is hosted by Vice’s Krishna Andavolu as he travels around the United States and the world, reporting on different political aspects of the modern cannabis industry. Weediquette provides a multidimensional look into cannabis, covering culture, politics, science, and economics.
Krishna has covered topics such as war veterans utilizing marijuana for PTSD treatment, how religion and cannabis can coexist, and what it’s like to be a parent who consumes in a prohibition state.
Explained
The “Weed” issue of Netflix’s Explained series is a great option for those who don’t want to sit down for a full-length documentary film. Clocking in at only 20 minutes, this episode covers Cannabis 101 – everything from its global history to the War on Drugs, to more technical components, such as strengths, strains, terpenes, and crossbreeding.
While there are many more cannabis films and TV series out there, these ten are a great place to start, whether you’re looking to be entertained or to be educated. In fact, most of these are available on Netflix, or accessible through a TV subscription. So, what are you waiting for?
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Gaby Sandor is a writer who focuses on cannabis lifestyle, culture, and history.