So they kept filming rather than wrapping up the project. Markus and Katzir had wanted a happy ending for their film, but when they showed American Pot Story around “it was a downer,” said Markus. It placed the issue in the political mainstream, and soon after Colorado and Washington residents voted to legalize cannabis. ![]() Prop 19’s narrow defeat in 2010, (46% to 50%) was in many ways a victory. They follow the Oakland activists as they make the case that prosecuting people for possession was a huge waste of government resources. Markus and Katzir show how the campaign debunked myths such as “cannabis is addictive” or is a “gateway” drug. For decades, African Americans were disproportionately arrested for marijuana crimes, leading to higher rates of incarceration and other harms. The film also shows how the campaign used the proposition as an opportunity to educate Californians about the racially disparate impacts of drug prohibition. ![]() There were also “internal enemies,” people secretly growing cannabis who didn’t want to be taxed and forced to enter the mainstream, which would require them to comply with all kinds of new regulations. “It was Allied hemp versus the alcohol Axis powers,” said Lee. In the film, Lee notes that some of the toughest opposition to Prop 19 came from the alcoholic beverage industry, which feared losing profits to cannabis. The campaign’s headquarters was in the Oaksterdam University space at 1600 Broadway. Lee committed $1.4 million of his own money-his life savings, according to the film-to fund the yes on Prop 19 campaign. Expressing their solidarity with the cause in the film are actor and advocate Tommy Chong, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Governor Gavin Newsom, and former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf.ĭirectors Ravit Markus (left) and Dan Katzir (center) on set with sound mixer Winter Sichelschsmidt. Many of Oakland’s elected and civic leaders were in support of Prop 19, even though federal law continued to treat cannabis the same as other drugs like methamphetamine and heroin. He grew a multimillion-dollar empire, largely on medicinal pot.ĭuring the Great Recession in 2009, states and cities desperately needed revenue and many policymakers realized that income from legal cannabis could help. When I go there, I see tourists and jobs and taxes being created from the cannabis industry, and I think we can do that here.” Lee himself came to own a medical marijuana dispensary, two coffee shops, a gift shop and a cannabis nursery. In a 2010 interview with NPR, Lee said “Amsterdam is our model city. He wanted to “bring Amsterdam to Oakland,” when he opened the first marijuana university downtown in 2007. Marijuana helped and he became part of the movement to legalize its medicinal and recreational use. Medical marijuana activist Richard Lee was a line tech for the band Aerosmith, but when he fell off scaffolding and sustained a spinal cord injury he was in chronic pain. Starting as a passionate, but inexperienced volunteer she eventually became the campaign’s highly effective manager and spokesperson, and ultimately, a leader at Oaksterdam University. ![]() “However, it was worth it because we captured a major historical shift and the moving personal stories of those changemakers.”ĭale Sky Jones, formerly homeless and the victim of domestic abuse, was drawn to the cause of legalizing marijuana and moved to Oakland to be part of the movement. “We thought we would film a revolution in one year but found out change takes much longer,” said Markus. Along the way, and documented in the film, are moments of defeat, a love story, threats of incarceration, and the birth of three children. Their efforts brought a previously taboo topic into the mainstream and started a candid conversation about the social justice impact of legalizing marijuana. window.dataLayer = window.Their film documents how pioneering cannabis advocates opened Oaksterdam in the heart of downtown Oakland and then led the charge to get a statewide measure to legalize cannabis on the ballot during the 2010 election. ![]() Life Story: Jarena Lee - Women & the American Story
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