Emily Mody - Weed The People (CUFF.Docs 2018)

Posted on Friday, November 30, 2018 at 10:00 PM

Weed The People (CUFF.Docs 2018)

Review by Emily Mody x CalgaryMovies.com

Weed The People is an American documentary directed by Abby Epstein. The story follows five families as they struggle through the treacherous waters of paediatric cancer. Desperate to relieve some of the symptoms and work towards remission, these families turn to holistic methods that are ultimately misunderstood by the general American populace. The results are truly staggering. Showcasing the benefits of medical marijuana, this film is a timely examination of the issue and the lives that are at stake.

Overall, this film was very well done and informative. It emphasized a critical standpoint on the restriction of marijuana use and how this has lead patients who are in desperate need of it to seek out unsafe dispensing methods. The film demonstrated that, not only are the processing methods unregulated, the fees of obtaining medicinal marijuana are also astronomical. To see how medical marijuana affected these children in such a positive way was both wonderful and heart wrenching to watch. It is so frustrating to see a treatment that is so effective and so difficult for these families to obtain. The reasons being, as presented by the documentary, are mainly based on pharmaceutical politics.

Unfortunately, one aspect of this documentary left me feeling uneasy. There was a communication breakdown between one of the families and Mara Gordon, the founder of Aunt Zelda’s which develops cannabis-based plant medicines and treatments. After taking the information that she had obtained from multiple sources, Sophie’s mother decided to break away from Aunt Zelda’s and establish her own cannabis company. It all seemed a bit petty and it left a bad taste in my mouth which was very unfortunate considering Sophie was so much healthier. Sophie’s health should really be the bottom line but it appears that money and loyalty took precedence in this case. Overall, I feel that this part of the documentary just felt like a distraction and I wish it had not been included. 

Overall I would recommend this film although there were certainly aspects I did not enjoy. I think that anyone with an interest in the topic is bound to learn something new and I found it very educational. This film shares a message that is both powerful and sincere in its portrayal. If you enjoy learning new things and questioning the norm, this message is an important one for you.

Weed The People is 97 minutes long. It discusses in detail paediatric cancer, medical marijuana use, and the effects of long term disease. Weed The People will be screening as a part of Calgary's Documentary Film Festival (CUFF.Docs 2018) on December 01, 2018 at 4:20pm at The Globe Cinema.

Calgary Showtimes:  Weed The People >