Documentary Review: The Union - The Business Behind Getting High

Today the MJO reviews The Union: The Business Behind Getting High, a Canadian documentary that is centered on British Columbia’s grow scene which is apparently called “The Union.” The documentary is expansive in scope and also examines a number of different facets of marijuana and its illegal industry. While we found The Union to be well-researched and very informative, in the end we found it’s kitchen-sink approach to marijuana issues to be overwhelming.

The Union begins with a brief history of marijuana and hemp use in the United States, discussing the beneficial uses of the two plants. It points out that the first marijuana law in America directed citizens to grow hemp. The Union examines marijuana’s path from favored crop to prohibited drug scourge in great detail.

Then there is an examination of prohibition and a lot of the arguments used by prohibitionists that do not stand up to closer scrutiny:

1. Marijuana is toxic and can cause cancer. There is very little evidence to support this proposition.
2. Marijuana is the most addictive drug. The documentary points out that scientists consider coffee to be more addictive than marijuana.
3. Marijuana is a gateway drug. Again there is no evidence to support this. There is no inherent pharmacological property of marijuana that would predispose one to try cocaine or heroin.
4. Marijuana makes you unproductive. Many business and political leaders have admitted to smoking marijuana.
5. Marijuana leads to crime and violence. The documentary points out that the crime associated with marijuana is not committed by users but occurs as a result of marijuana prohibition and the ensuing criminals that this policy empowers. Alcohol leads to much more crime and violence today. Moreover, when alcohol was prohibited it led to the rise of organized crime and criminal figures such as Al Capone.

Perhaps the documentary’s best argument against prohibition is that drug dealers are for it because otherwise they would have no avenue to make the enormous profits that they are currently making of marijuana.

[As an aside, one of the more interesting prohibition stories revealed regards the Reagan administration’s shocking announcement that marijuana use inevitably leads to permanent brain damage. As support for his contention, President Reagan pointed to the Heath/Tulane study, in which monkeys were subjected to the equivalent of smoking thirty joints a day, for the period of one year. However, The Union makes the claim that rather than thirty joints a day, the monkeys were fitted with a gas mask and were pumped with what amounted to sixty-three Colombian strength joints in the span of approximately five minutes. The monkeys suffered from atrophy and inevitably suffered brain damage from lack of oxygen intake. The Reagan administration falsely claimed that their evidence was proof that marijuana was potentially the most dangerous drug ever.]

From there the documentary rapidly examines various marijuana issues including BC bud, Canadian “grow ops,” neighborhood “Grow Watches,” the union of marijuana growers and dealers, Cannabis day, Tommy Chong, Marc Emery, the jail construction industry, the rise of private prisons, the rise of the drug testing industry, Big Pharma’s opposition to marijuana legalization, Marinol, Hempfest, and the various uses of hemp. However, as a result of throwing the kitchen sink at the viewer, The Union loses sight of each topic and never really gains insightful focus in a significant and meaningful way. That is not to say that The Union is not a well made documentary. Far from it. However, one might wonder whether tackling such a huge topic and attempting to cram the large amount of information into a 104 minute documentary might have been a misstep. With such a large amount of content to explore, the film’s creators may have been better served with breaking The Union into a multi-part series.

Furthermore, the ending of The Union is somewhat disappointing. After what starts out as a very serious and factual documentary, the ending loses course and becomes somewhat preachy. As a result, the ending is anti-climactic and a let-down. In fact, the unusual choice to essentially end the documentary where it started is a bit of an Achilles heel for The Union, since the ending does not focus on marijuana but rather the hemp industry.

The majority of the people interviewed all have a huge connection to the marijuana culture. Scientists, doctors, growers, police officers, economists and politicians are shown discussing the marijuana trade, and for the most part give intelligent and considerate answers that are sure to raise some serious questions for the uninformed populace. However, the filmmakers made the unusual decision to also interview Joe Rogan, best known for his work as a UFC analyst and his stints on the television shows NewsRadio and Fear Factor. This decision was a bit odd considering the number of experts that were lined up to be interviewed for the documentary. Joe Rogan has no relation to the marijuana industry, and for all intents and purposes, is not a legitimate marijuana smoker. Mr. Rogan admits to having started smoking marijuana at the age of 30. And rather than interject with any sort of intelligent dialogue, Mr. Rogan sees fit to degrade the quality of the documentary by constantly cursing into the camera. The inclusion of Mr. Rogan was a poor choice, and gives a film that is aimed at being serious, intelligent, and informative an unwelcome juvenile touch.

A related weakness is that there are no people interviewed that are anti-marijuana legalization. Perhaps the makers of The Union felt that those arguments were passé and that they had dealt with them effectively throughout the documentary. However, the lack of interviewed counterpoints leaves The Union very open to accusations of bias.

In the end, the MJO recommends that you watch The Union. While it is not perfect and there is substantial room for improvement, it is still one of the best documentaries on the marijuana industry that we have ever seen.

The Union: The Business Behind Getting High

Executive Producer: Adam Scorgie

Director: Brett Harvey

Awards:

1. 2008 Leo Awards: nominated for Best Overall Sound in a Documentary Program or Series
2. 2008 Leo Awards: nominated for Best Sound Editing in a Documentary Program or Series
3. 2007 Rhode Island International Film Festival: Won Best Editing (Stephen Green)
4. 2007 Winnipeg International Film Festival: Won Outstanding Documentary Feature (Brett Harvey)

This post was written in conjunction with MJO cheif-of-staff Yellowcake.