Weed the People (2018)
The uplifting and heart-wrenching struggles of families who treat their cancer-stricken children with marijuana, some with astonishing results.
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Too much of everything
To me, this movie is perfection.
Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.
It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny
Weed the People was well-received at Austin's SXSW Film Festival. It is a solid, if somewhat predicable, documentary on the absurdity of medical marijuana prohibition. While it is certainly possible for folks of goodwill to have differing opinions on wisdom of legalizing recreational marijuana, the argument for maintaining medical marijuana as prohibited Schedule 1 drug with zero medical benefits is increasingly ridiculous. The film focuses on telling the stories about half-a-dozen kids with cancer and their parents and the struggles to use marijuana to assist their children. My only concern was that at times they seemed to be delaying traditional treatments in favor of relying on marijuana as an alternative cure. The marijuana advocates often seemed to be experimenting with these kids lives and come dangerously close to practicing medicine without proper training and licensing. While there are certainly medicinal benefits to marijuana particularly in pain amelioration, I'm concerned to see it advocated as cure for cancer and other conditions since that has clearly not been shown by medical research (which the government has unfortunately severely restricted). There was something deeply problematic about the filmmakers use of anecdotal evidence to argue a scientific case. The film was well-made and well-edited. The storytelling was compelling. One questioner in the audience pointed out - correctly I think - that title, while funny, suggested a film that was more about recreational weed than a lot more serious issues involved in treating those with terminal illnesses. They might want to consider a new title or adding a subtitle.