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The University of West Georgia’s chapter of NORML presented the movie, “The Union: The Business Behind Getting High” in the TLC Room 1203 on Feb. 25. The movie is an intense film on one of the world’s most profitable industries: marijuana.
Ever wonder what British Columbia’s most profitable industries are? Fishing? Agriculture? Tourism? Ever think to include marijuana?
No longer just a hobby for the stereotypical hippie culture of the 1960s, British Columbia’s illegal marijuana trade industry has evolved into an unstoppable business giant, named by those involved in “The Union.”
Commanding upwards of over $7 billion Canadian annually, the Union’s roots stretch far and wide. With up to 85 percent of all “B.C. Bud” being exported to the US, the British Columbian marijuana trade has become an international issue, with consequences that extend far beyond borders. Record profits are made in the marijuana industry, and the movie showcased that theme extensively.
In the film, filmmaker Adam Scorgie jumps headfirst into Canada’s most socially accepted illegal activity. Along the way, Scorgie demystifies the underground markets, bringing to light how such a large industry can function while remaining illegal. Scorgie examines the cause-and-effect nature of the ‘business behind getting high’ by interviewing experts from around the world, including growers, clippers, police officers, criminologists, economists, medical doctors, politicians and pop culture icons.
Nobody is innocent in the exploration of an industry that may profit more with its illegal status.
History even accepted marijuana as an industry. Hemp plants provide consumers with bio-fuels and medicines, and has the strongest fiber to make clothing, rope and paper. The United States’ Declaration of Independence is even written on hemp paper, which is why it hasn’t deteriorated in over 200 years.
Today, 50 million Americans use marijuana illegally, and it is a $10-15 billion a year industry – not only for growers and sellers, but also for the US government. The government uses tax dollars to ‘fight the war on drugs,’ but its main goal is to stop the distribution of marijuana.
There are many reasons for this. “Wars” are expensive, but also create new jobs in the marketplace and bring in revenue from the possession of products.
Medical marijuana is a topic which can be discussed and approved when it helps to relieve pain, but scientists create it by adding protons and neutrons to a tube.
So, asks the film, what’s wrong with growing it? The film is intended to change a person’s perspective on how he or she feels about marijuana. Check out the movie for more startling evidence involving the business behind getting high.
NORML meets every other Thursday on-campus, and locations are still being discussed due to the huge turnouts at meetings.
Email UWG NORML at uwgnorml@gmail.com for information, including a complete list of meetings and events. Be sure to also check out “The Union: The Business Behind Getting High”’s official trailer on YouTube.