GUEST COLUMN: All About the Movie "Weed the People"

All About The Movie Weed The People

by Emma Wilson

Many consider movies a source of entertainment and a means to get over boredom or spend time with friends. Movies do not only entertain but also tackle some critical issues in society. They focus on major debates such as the legalization, use, and myths about certain societal concepts.

Launched on Netflix in 2018, Weed The People pulls on the heartstrings, as it covers various stories of families having to help their sick children with marijuana. From the huge costs involved in the treatments to the difficulties around the laws, this documentary is a similar length to CBD Nation, lasting 1 hour and 37 minutes.

Weed The People is directed by Abby Epstein, a director who has become synonymous with high-quality documentaries, including Sweetening the Pill and The Business of Being Born.

The documentary also includes a number of interviews with physicians who show their support for the usage of cannabis as a treatment.

The Cast And The Storyline

Weed the People is director Abby Epstein’s effective exploration into the way cannabis oil is being used as an alternative medicine for kids battling cancer. The film introduces several patients, from Sophie Ryan, a baby with a brain tumor, to AJ Kephart, a teenager with stage 4 bone cancer, to show how they are responding to doses of cannabis oil—often in conjunction with chemotherapy. The results, as the film shows, are nothing short of miraculous. 

The stories are all heartfelt. Epstein wants Weed the People to provide folks with hope. It may jerk tears when one subject encounters a setback, or another patient loses their battle with cancer, but there will also be tears of joy with the film’s multiple success stories. 

In The Movie

According to scientific studies, cannabis and cannabis-related products are essential in treating cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These findings are underrated and have not been given attention because of the popular arguments that the findings aim to promote the consumption of cannabis, hence contributing to drug abuse in society. You can click here to read more on one of the CBD types. 

Cannabis, Marijuana, Weed, and lots of different phrases synonymous with this area were shunned in our society for the longest time. whether you're a college scholar getting stoned for fun or a clinical consumer who desires the green buds to characteristic without succumbing to the ache, the stigma remains equal. part of that is attributed to the categorization of marijuana into the "capsules" category, and mother and father shudder at the idea of it. 

In this documentary, the makers explore a completely exceptional attitude. The documentary starts off evolved on a grim note where we see more than one kids being the victims of most cancers and tumor that refuses to go into reverse. In reality, one of the first dialogues to which you pay attention is that of a mother telling the crew that the docs doubt their child will ever see her second birthday. It sets the tone for the rest of the documentary wherein parents are combating the pharmaceutical way and adopting changing life for his or her youngsters.

"When your kid's got cancer," Angela says, "the rule book goes out the window." And that's exactly what this documentary is all about. The conventional ways are left behind while people adopt this beneficial and ignored plant to cure the disease that has robbed millions of people of their sleep, life, and happiness.

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Weed the People is a sneak peek into the life of such families that have been suffering due to no negligence or fault of their own. A teenager, an eight-year-old, and even a 9-month-old baby fight the stigmatic system, the unmeasured inconsistency, and the unfairness of the fact that they couldn't access something as natural as a plant. There has been much research on how medical marijuana helps people suffering from glaucoma, chronic pain, mental health issues, nausea, appetite, which makes it really useful for cancer patients. But in these stories, we see not only the side relief, but getting hold of the main culprit and using Cannabis to kill or shrink cancer. 

If you thought you knew cannabis, this documentary is going to give you a whole new glance at the many benefits and the life that may have been lost when it comes to the general treatment. Sophie Ryan, an eight-month-old girl diagnosed with a tumor didn't even understand the magnitude of what she was supposed to go through. Eventually, her parents opted out of chemo, which would really take a toll on her fragile body, and contacted a dosing specialist. In a matter of time, we see not the only improvement in her energy and capabilities, but also the fact that the tumor actually shrank (along with chemo). Even the doctors agreed to the benefits of marijuana.

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A herbalist reveals that cannabis or weed was used long before we even came into existence, and can be seen in recipe books that were written in 1805. The sad part of the control of this particular plant does not stem from concern or misuse, but from racism, xenophilia, and Anti-Mexican sentiments. A perspective that stuck with me long after the documentary was that cannabis was used for 3000 years, and it is only in the past 70 years that it has been illegal. We are fighting against 70 years of propaganda! 

The documentary revolves around the parents using cannabis oil to see the change they have been hoping for. With an intricate explanation of how cannabinoids communicate and tinker with our endocannabinoid system to make us feel better, you realize that cannabis isn't a miracle, it's plain science. Like almost any other medicine that you take otherwise. The new perspective, the constant realization, and the wide outlook of weed make you realize how much the stigmatic approach takes away from us.

The more you dwell deeper into the documentary, the more you realize how much the information has been distorted and classified to create a certain kind of fear that keeps you in the dark. With only 6% of the research intended for finding the good reasons, the rest 94% works to ensure millions of people who read online that cannabis is bad, and is even categorized as worse than cocaine. 

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We see mothers being concerned because the unregulated market of cannabis sells them products that they have no idea what it contains. It really does make us wonder if the Human Right Law is so weak and unobserved that people have to fight to the death over a plant that should have been legal in the first place. This is a controversy at the cost of our loved ones, and it shouldn't be so!

Once the glaringly obvious truth that the government is blocking the research in the US and being the world power, certainly affecting the mindset all around, the filmmakers proceed to other countries like Spain and Israel. Here, medical research is not put behind curtains and is being prescribed by doctors for patients who really need it. 

As the documentary progresses, the stories become more personal, and you see tears and happy hugs, and it makes you wonder and get enraged at the little information that we have for the controlled medical plant. The documentary is brilliantly portrayed with equal parts of actual real-life struggle stories and information around cannabis, making it a very balanced act. 

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The Los Angeles Times called it "Moving... An urgent cry for help." whereas Bustle claimed that Weed The People “will challenge everything you thought you knew about medical marijuana.” It is honestly a roller coaster ride, and you end up realizing that amount of casualty that has already happened when people were denied cannabis. And more so, because only a few parents can afford the unregulated plants that no insurance covers. 

Some stories inspire while others break your heart, but in the end, you undeniably get more faith in medical marijuana, and it shifts something in our strict mindset. These are life-saving plants, and they shouldn't be inaccessible to millions of people who are fighting each day with pharmaceutical drugs that aren't doing them any good. In the end, we are left with the thought that consuming marijuana for medical purposes is not a crime, but keeping it away from people who can genuinely benefit and save their life is a crime. The "Gift of God" is never supposed to be hidden and obscured. 

Summary

Weed the People makes a convincing case for the progress and advances most of the kids profiled here experience. The film wears its bias proudly, as it wants to foment change and save lives. That message comes across clearly here, even if some folks may remain skeptical.