The Culture High (2014)

Pretty Good

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

"The Culture High" is a documentary that was released on October 17, 2014. It is directed by Brett Harvy and stars several different people and professionals in the subject of cannabis. This documentary find itself trying to tackle the big issue of cannabis in the present day world, being heavily focused on whether or not it should be legal and how dangerous it is compared to other substances such as alcohol and prescription drugs. The film immediately starts off with a SWAT team breaking into a house that they believe is involved in the distribution on marijuana due to them finding traces of it in the household's garbage. This scene is a very strong statement for the movie to start off with. From here the movie starts taking on all the big questions about marijuana and all the misconceptions that the public is lead to believe. The film is strongly focused on distributing the real facts about cannabis and what it can really do for the public.This film is most interesting when it points out all of the flaws in prescription drugs and how they can be plenty more harmful than marijuana can be. People believe that since prescription drugs are legal they couldn't possibly be harmful but in a large amount of cases they can be severely harmful. The film states that some of these prescription drugs can easily be replaced by cannabis which would have severely less side effects. There is also a strong argument about how marijuana use should not result in being put in jail or anything along those lines. The film starts talking about how several recent presidents have openly confessed that they used marijuana when they were younger and do not wish others to fall into the path that they did. At this point it is argued that if they were caught with marijuana when they were younger than they would have never won the presidency due to the fact that they had that criminal record, so it is brought up to think about whether this should be punishable to the extent that it is.When "The Culture High" isn't talking about the usefulness of cannabis and how much it can help people in need, it finds itself attacking all of the other substances that are used by the general public due to it being legal. Much time is spent bad mouthing alcohol and prescription drugs for all of the things that they can lead to. The film says that doctors become influenced by the distributors of different prescription drugs which can take away from their honest opinion about what their patient should use to help with their illness. There is also the argument on how many deaths alcohol has led to from intoxication and alcohol poisoning. These arguments are valid but they can take away from the overall picture that this film is trying to make about cannabis.According to critic Geoff Berkshire of Variety, "the film leaps from topic to topic like a particularly ADD member of the debate club." Although I do agree with Berkshire in that the film does seem to not be as focused, but it does bring up many valid points in the debate for legalizing marijuana. Berkshire also talks about how the credibility of the speakers in the film can vary. For example Berkshire states that "the scores of talking heads range from insightful (former Baltimore police detective and "The Wire" co-creator Ed Burns) to kooky (author Howard Bloom) to totally far out (charming former international pot smuggler Howard Marks)." I agree with him in the respect that some of the speakers in the film can seem unnecessary at times. Although these points can be distracting at times, I still feel that "The Culture High" has a strong case for the many uses of marijuana if it were to be legalized. Overall, I would recommend this film to any people that are on the fence about the legalization of marijuana. I would not trust the views of all of the people in this documentary due to the fact that some are not as credible as others are in this particular field. I would recommend that you have some general knowledge about cannabis before watching this movie. Anyone who is interested in marijuana and its possibilities to help people should watch "The Culture High". It is a very informative film with strong evidence to support its claims and many interesting ideas to think about after it is over.

I think it is sad to have to say this to validate my opinion, but I will say right up front that I do not smoke marijuana. Despite that, I believe it is CRITICAL for every thinking American to watch this film. It is an excellent expose of our current drug policies, criminal system, medical system, pharmaceutical system, legal system and last but certainly not least it lays open our political system. Please watch it, please share it. Knowledge is power. Overlook the characters and strong language and listen to what is being said. It is important information that needs to be disseminated throughout our country and it's people. This documentary is successful in in showing the hypocrisy and illogicality of our nations drug policies and specifically the prohibition of cannabis (marijuana). Take off your blinders and expand beyond your current mindset and allow yourself to listen, this film may just enlighten you to think a little differently. Don't be afraid to open yourself to information that may be contrary to what you've been led to believe, because you have been led. Think for yourself and make up your own mind.

I watched this documentary hoping to view a balanced argument from those for and against the legalisation of cannabis but it was anything but. I have never watched such a one sided and biased documentary. I sat through over one hour of this brain dead propaganda presented by comedians and rappers. The arguments for legalisation were extremely weak and naive and the documentary did not feature a single person arguing against it. It is obvious that those behind this film are pot heads themselves. Ignore all the ridiculously high scores on this site as they have obviously been set by the smokers themselves. If you would like to see an intelligent balanced argument for and against cannabis I'm afraid that you won't find it here.

Two hours well spent for an insightful yet accessible documentary which, with the addition of similar shared views on oil, could neatly fit into 'A short history of modern everything'. Carefully researched, well balanced and brave. Indeed a thoroughly nourishing look at our brave new world. Only 8.5! never-mind because in years to come this will prove to be one of those classics that are enjoyable but yet remind us of our infallibility as a society, where policies are harmful but the courage and effort required to change things are squashed by a general consensus of fear and ignorance. I particularly liked the balance of information in this documentary. My only query is whether there is any legitimate (emphasis on legitimate rather than autocratically driven consensual hearsay) documentation that confirms the presence of detrimental side effects, because of course everything can have side effects - even eating too many carrots can have side effects!Thank you to all those brave professionals who spoke perhaps knowing that their credibility in their world would probably be tainted, or they might even be sacked, as was Professor David Nutt. A special thank you to Howard Bloom who came over as a true philanthropist. Well done Brett Harvey and team for two hours of thought provoking cinematographic entertainment,