The Union: The Business Behind Getting High (2007)

Director:

Brett Harvey

Writers:

Brett Harvey (written by) &
Adam Scorgie (written by)

Release Date:

8 June 2007 (Canada)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

BC's illegal marijuana trade industry has evolved into a business giant, dubbed by some involved as 'The Union'...

Plot Keywords:

Business | Cannabis | Marijuana | Government | Interview

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Adam Scorgie	...	Himself - Host
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chris Bennett	...	Himself - Author & Former 'Pot TV' Manager
Steve Bloom	...	Himself - Former Editor, High Times
Renee Bojee	...	Herself - Activist
Neil Boyd	...	Himself - Professor of Criminology, Simon Fraser University
George Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
George W. Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
Larry Campbell	...	Himself - Mayor of Vancouver, 2002-2005 (as Senator Larry Campbell)
Rielle Capler	...	Herself - Policy Analyst - BC Compassion Club Society
Tommy Chong	...	Himself - Comedian (also archive footage)
Jack A. Cole	...	Himself - Director of LEAP and Former Undercover Narcotics Agent
John Conroy	...	Himself - Criminal Defense Lawyer
Greg Cooper	...	Himself - Multiple Sclerosis & Ataxia Sufferer
Stephen Easton	...	Himself - Professor of Economics, Simon Fraser University
Marc Emery	...	Himself - Seed Retailer & Activist (also archive footage)
Lester Grinspoon	...	Himself - Professor Emeritus, Harvard Medical School (as Dr. Lester Grinspoon)
Paul Hornby	...	Himself - Biochemist & Human Pathologist (as Dr. Paul Hornby)
James Hudson	...	Himself - Professor Emeritus, University of British Columbia (as Dr. James Hudson)
Perry Kendall	...	Himself - British Columbia Provincial Health Officer
Mark Klokeid	...	Himself
Dana Larsen	...	Himself - Founding Editor, Cannabis Culture
Steve Levine	...	Himself - President, Hemp Industries Association
David Malmo-Levine	...	Himself - Vancouver Drug War History School
Cheech Marin	...	Himself (archive footage)
Todd McCormick	...	Himself - Author, How to Grow Medicinal Marijuana
Tod Hiro Mikuriya	...	Himself - Former Marijuana Research Administrator (as Dr. Tod Mikuriya)
Jeffrey Miron	...	Himself - Visiting Professor of Economics, Harvard University
Ian Mulgrew	...	Himself - Vancouver Sun Columnist
Ralph Nader	...	Himself - Reform Party Presidential Candidate (archive footage)
Richard Nixon	...	Himself (archive footage)
Phillip Owens	...	Himself - Mayor of Vancouver (archive footage)
Darryl Plecas	...	Himself - Professor of Criminology, University College of the Fraser Valley
Tom Riley	...	Himself - Office of National Drug Control Policy (archive footage)
Joe Rogan	...	Himself - Comedian
Ed Rosenthal	...	Himself - Growth Expert
Craig X. Rubin	...	Himself - Actor, Weeds
Norm Stamper	...	Himself - Seattle Chief of Police
Tim Stockwell	...	Himself - Professor of Psychology, University of Victoria
Kirk Tousaw	...	Himself - Lawyer & BC Marijuana Party Manager
Jesse Ventura	...	Himself - Host, Jesse Ventura's America (archive footage)
Watermelon	...	Herself - Pot Baker & Comedian
Greg Williams	...	Himself - Activist
Wes Williams	...	Himself - Hip Hop Artist (as Maestro Fresh Wes)

Directed by
Brett Harvey

Writing credits
Brett Harvey		(written by) &
Adam Scorgie		(written by)

Produced by
Graeme Flannigan	....	producer
Stephen Green	....	line producer
Stephen Green	....	producer
Kieran Maguire	....	executive producer
Adam Scorgie	....	executive producer
Adam Scorgie	....	producer

Original Music by
Michael Champion

Cinematography by
Brett Harvey

Film Editing by
Stephen Green

Production Management
Stephen Green	....	production manager

Visual Effects by
Stephen Green	....	visual effects

Other crew
Aren Altman	....	legal counsel

Thanks
Suzanne Esper	....	special thanks
Mark Klokeid	....	thank you
Brad Schmidt	....	special thanks
Cain Winter	....	special thanks
James Wirt	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Score G Productions

Distributors

• Eagle Entertainment (2009) (Australia) (all media)
• Lace International (2008) (UK) (all media)
• Peace Arch Entertainment Group (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• SuperChannel (2008) (Canada) (TV)

Runtime:

Canada:104 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Score G Productions

Quotes:

Himself - Policy Analyst - BC Compassion Club Society:We've been hearing for years, them trying to say that it causes lung cancer and we say, "Really? That's interesting, because you can't even show us one case of cancer being caused by cannabis use alone."

Movie Connections:

Features Reefer Madness (1936)

Soundtrack:

Bad Nose

A real eye-opener

I'm not a pot smoker. In fact, I've never even tried it. People tend to always assume I'm a complete pothead; especially when first meeting me. My good friends and I now just all agree that I must have a pothead's personality or something, heh.

Just maybe about a year ago, give or take, I was completely against the good stuff. I still believed what I had "learned" in D.A.R.E., telling me that you could overdose from your first puff (seriously, our police guy told us this, lol). I thought it was more likely to cause lung cancer, proved to kill braincells, would make me mentally disabled, become self-destructive, etc. I thought that weed was as bad as heroin, simply because I was constantly hearing about how bad it is and how it'll screw your life up. I mean, I honestly thought that people who wanted medicinal marijuana just wanted to get stoned - thankfully, I know better now.

My opinion starting changing about about a year ago, when I read an article that suggested that weed could actually help treat a physical disability my mother suffers with. This made me curious, and I quickly began doing a ton of research. Eventually, I decided to watch "The Union" after seeing a few people comment about it being a great documentary to get information from.

By the time I watched it, I was already turning towards pro-marijuana legalization, and this documentary helped me get over any doubt. They give a lot of information, and information that is worth knowing. Looking back to a year ago, before starting my research and before watching the documentary, I can't believe how ignorant I was. I can't believe the stereotypes and judgements I held while completely misinformed.

Now, I know better. I'm not a pot smoker; I've never even touched it, but to me, that just shows that it doesn't take a complete pothead to realize that it should be made legal. Now, when I get the chance, I correct people's statements and misinformations about marijuana and I've provided several people with better information and I've recommended this very documentary to a few people.

I think the main reason I held such hatred towards the plant before being properly informed was because when my older sister was a teen, she became very self-destructive and caused a lot of drama and pain within the family, and at that time she did get caught smoking weed, and I associated her behaviour with it.

My mom, who also used to be completely dead-set against weed, is not as against it as before since I've given her information. Although she's not willing on trying it yet and still a little sceptical, she's much more open to the possibility of trying to get a doctor's recommendation for it than she would've been otherwise. She would qualify for it, and it's legal here if you've got a doctor's recommendation. I want to get her to watch this (and a couple other documentaries, but mostly this one) in hopes that she'll at least give it a go and hopefully be able of decreasing her medication intake (She needs to take a lot on a daily basis, some of which seem kinda sketchy.)

So in conclusion, I recommend this to anyone and everyone; it's a real eye-opener and very informative.