HIGH: The True Tale Of American Marijuana

This in-depth documentary goes behind the supposed propaganda to get the real story on America’s war on marijuana.

Beyond the hysteria of Reefer Madness and past the deceptive lessons of “Just Say No”, HIGH exposes the true story of America’s war on drugs. Using government statistics, expert interviews and a large dose of humor, HIGH takes a fresh look at this hot button issue and asks just how much this “war” costs Americans in money, stress, and even lives. There’s a violent drug treatment program that tortured children; an overbearing drug czar that doesn’t care for the people he hurts in his quest; patients who are being denied the medications they need; doctors being prosecuted for trying to help them; and a substance that we all know of, but nobody wants to talk about.

Hemp is mostly used as a name for low tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) strains of the plant Cannabis sativa, of fiber and/or oilseed varieties. In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food, and fuel. Hemp is legally grown in many countries across the world including Canada, Spain, China, Japan, Korea, England, France, Africa, North Africa, Egypt, and Ireland. Hemp is commonly associated with marijuana (hemp’s THC rich cousin). Since 2007, commercial success of hemp food products has grown considerably.

Hemp is one of the faster growing biomasses known, producing up to 25 tonnes of dry matter per hectare per year. A normal average yield in large scale modern agriculture is about 2.5–3.5 t/ac. Approximately, one tonne of bast fiber and 2–3 tonnes of core material can be decorticated from 3–4 tonnes of good quality, dry retted straw.

For a crop, hemp is very environmentally friendly as it requires few pesticides and no herbicides. Hemp is one of the earliest domesticated plants known.

Cannabis sativa L. subsp. sativa var. sativa is the variety grown for industrial use, while C. sativa subsp. indica generally has poor fiber quality and is primarily used for production of recreational and medicinal drugs. The major difference between the two types of plants is the appearance and the amount of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) secreted in a resinous mixture by epidermal hairs called glandular trichomes, although they can also be distinguished genetically. Oilseed and fiber varieties of Cannabis approved for industrial hemp production produce only minute amounts of this psychoactive drug, not enough for any physical or psychological effects. Typically, hemp contains below 0.3% THC, while cultivars of Cannabis grown for recreational use can contain anywhere from 2% to over 20%.

The world leading producer of hemp is China with smaller production in Europe, Chile and North Korea. While more hemp is exported to the United States than to any other country, the United States Government does not consistently distinguish between marijuana and the non-psychoactive Cannabis used for industrial and commercial purposes.

Medical cannabis refers to the parts of the herb cannabis used as a physician-recommended form of medicine or herbal therapy, or to synthetic forms of specific cannabinoids such as THC as a physician-recommended form of medicine. The Cannabis plant has a long history of use as medicine, with historical evidence dating back to 2,737 BCE. Cannabis is one of the 50 “fundamental” herbs of traditional Chinese medicine, and is prescribed to treat diverse indications.

Cannabis, also known as marijuana and by other names, refers to preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug and as medicine. Chemically, the major psychoactive compound in cannabis is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC); it is one of 400 compounds in the plant, including other cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol, cannabinol, and tetrahydrocannabivarin, which can produce sensory effects unlike the psychoactive effects of THC.