The Union: The Business Behind Getting High

I've had the good fortune of coming across this great documentary today about the history and reality of the marijuana industry in the US and Canada. It's a bit long, but it's absolutely worth your time.

Edit: Having problems with embedding the video, you can watch it on google here.

From TheUnionMovie.com

Ever wonder what British Columbia's most profitable industries are? Logging? Fishing? Tourism? Ever think to include marijuana? If you haven't, think again. No longer a hobby for the stereotypical hippie culture of the ‘60s, BC's illegal marijuana trade industry has evolved into an unstoppable business giant, dubbed by those involved as 'The Union'. Commanding upwards of $7 billion Canadian annually, The Union’s roots stretch far and wide. With up to 85% of all 'BC Bud' being exported to the United States, the BC marijuana trade has become an international issue with consequences that extend far beyond our borders. When record profits are to be made, who are the players, and when do their motives become questionable?

- Why is marijuana illegal?
- What health risks do we really face?
- Does prohibition work?
- What would happen if we taxed it?
- Medicine, paper, fuel, textiles, food, etc. Are we missing something?

Follow filmmaker Adam Scorgie as he dives head first into Canada's most socially acceptable illegal activity. Along the way, Adam demystifies the underground market and brings to light how such a large industry can function while remaining illegal. By interviewing experts from around the globe, including growers, clippers, police officers, criminologists, economists, medical doctors, politicians and pop culture icons, Scorgie examines the cause and effect nature of the business behind getting high.

The Government and Medical Marijuana

Irvin Rosenfeld, a 56-year-old Floridian with a painful bone disease called multiple congenital cartilaginous exostoses is sent marijuana every month to help him live a pain free lifestyle. Not from his "dude", but from the U.S. Government.

Rosenfeld became a patient in the federal Investigational New Drug Program in 1982, and has received 300 joints every 25 days for the past 27 years, consuming about 10 to 12 per day, says NBCMiami. The marijuana is grown and delivered by the same government that ended support for medical marijuana in 1992.

Why do Irv Rosenfeld and the handful of others still on the government's INDP list get their medicine directly from the same entity that imprisons others for getting their medicine on the street? In one state, you may be a patient; in another state, a criminal. Medical marijuana should be available to all who need it, without worry of jail time.

Of course, NBCMiami only covered the story because the day it ran Irv was allowed to smoke his 115,000th joint legally. The article did a good job of inlcuding Irv's story in his own words, which by itself is a plight for the legalization of medical marijuana on a federal level. However, the rest of the article was filled with your run-of-the-mill pot references. When will the media start taking a real look at the pain and suffering of those who are not afforded the comfort of being able to take their medicine legally in their own home?