What a thread. A lot of the things people are arguing about here aren't 'black and white' issues. The legalization and medical marijuana movement is important. Until it reaches its goal of widespread decriminalization and then gradual legalization, we will have illicit commercial growers--because we need them. They will remain a part of the ecosystem so long as that niche exists, as it were. Nature abhors a vacuum.
I used to live in Portland, OR. It was and is a weed Mecca. Amazing pot came in from all directions. A good amount of the weed and even more of the genetics going around came from B.C. . So, I enjoy seeing a dramatization of what B.C. outdoor growers have to go through. Hell, I even enjoy the scenery. (I really need to get up to B.C. and see the Canadian rockies, being a big fan of the Sierra and the Cascades.)
I think it's clear that the movie is dramatized, and exhibits a typical story arc. So what?
Who cares if BDW really has a marriage on the rocks? Who cares if he actually is hounded by bill collectors? For that matter, who cares if it's a stunt helicopter? It's a
story. It may be a true story, or it may only be based on a true story. It may be a pastiche of things that have happened over a long time, or that have happened to different growers. Or it just may be a fairly realistic (if hyperbolic) fiction.
I'm sure there are growers that are dodging bill collectors. Helicopters are a real threat, as are hikers, hunters, etc. We
all know how spouses, families, etc. can be. It doesn't need to be
cinema verite. It's a good story, fun to watch, nice to look at, and will be at least somewhat educational. It manages to work in spots by various figures who
are in the reform movement. Taken all together, that's not too shabby!
Whether or not you want to buy into BDW's 'message' is up to you. I think it's an interesting perspective (maybe overstated for marketing purposes, but what isn't these days), even if my own point of view is closer to FDD's. Certainly, BDW is getting a lot of mileage out of RIU, and I think that's fine as he seems to have come around to the idea that you have to take to community here for what it is: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Plus, for added flavor, the resolutely incomprehensible and the absolutely fucking batshit insane.
Now, what's up with all the California hating? I'll not be tolerating any bitchy slighting of the mighty Bear Republic, dammit.
Booky, do you live in fucking Texas? If weed is so important to you, and you've been so oppressed over it, pack up your shit and MOVE. This isn't Soviet Russia, you don't need papers to relocate. Everyone can afford to live
somewhere in California if they want to. California is a
fucking huge state. It has every kind of environment you can name from coast to desert to alpine ranges to tundra to fucking
glaciers. There are huge, empty parts of the state where land is dirt cheap and very sparsely populated. There are mountains that look like something out of BDW's movie. California is like a microcosm of the entire West. There's something and somewhere for everyone here. You're not a vassal of your home state and you're under no obligations to toil under the yoke of their backwards laws. This isn't feudal Europe.
Furthermore, the reforms we have here weren't handed down on high as a gift from the gods, they were worked towards over a long period of time. First we had decrim in major cities. Then some reform of state laws. Then the medical campaign got underway. This has been a fight sustained over generations. Yes, we have a more permissive culture here and that helps. Boo fucking hoo. Plenty of states that aren't California have accomplished much, and have done so faster (having started more recently.) Oregon's advocates went through plenty of ugly fights and busts before the movement really got established and began to succeed in changing the environment. In states like CA and OR, once the medical system becomes the uncontroversial status quo, we'll be ready to take the next step in pushing back on the national stage against the failed Federal policies that were put into place almost one hundred years ago.
It's a long fight, BDW was right about that. A war of attrition. And one long stalemated on the illicit front. It's time to storm the fucking Bastille and call our leaders to account. It just so happens these days we do that with ballots and prescriptions instead of torches and pitchforks, as satisfying as that might be. Maybe we should bring the old ballots back. I wouldn't have minded chucking a few of these at Ashcroft:
Anyway, just as in the Prohibition BDW makes reference too, it won't be the 'rum-runners' that ultimately win the war. It will be the weight of shifting social opinion and growing public opposition to the prohibition, as brought to bear by reformers and advocates and as expressed through the vote, that forces lasting change.
Also, a big part of it is generational change. The 'greatest generation' may indeed have been great--but they aren't 'great' on
this issue. They're passing on in alarming numbers, though, and it seems somehow appropriately respectful not to rush things *too* much while they're still around. By which I mean I until they're mostly gone it's probably best to focus on decriminalization, sentencing reform, medical programs, etc.
When the older voters are all mostly 'me generation' with plenty of ex-hippies and ex-yuppies (and a more Libertarian bent on the conservative side) you'll see things change. Fast.
I enjoyed the vids, and will buy the DVD. I don't need BDW to be anything more than a decently experienced grower and a good amateur filmmaker to enjoy the movie, and he's clearly over that hurdle.
[This post may be edited. I think there are a couple things I forgot to say. Need to skim the last couple pages again.]