Grass (1999) *** (out of 4) Woody Harrelson narrates this documentary that takes a look at marijuana laws in America, which have been enforced for one hundred years even though nothing has ever been accomplished by it. The documentary uses stock footage from those in charge, President speeches and interviews as well as "warning" films such as Reefer Madness, Marijuana and Up in Smoke among others. Seeing the actual history of these laws makes for one funny documentary because of how stupid some of the things trying to be passed off were. I've reviewed Reefer Madness countless times but might have to give it more credit since it was the government passing most of the trash seen in the film. Throughout the film we see various speeches from government people and their opinions on the drug including that of Richard Nixon who ordered a report on the drug and when that report came back not showing the drug to be bad, Nixon simply threw the report away. The documentary never takes itself too serious nor does it ever try to be political but instead just show some facts, which some might want to overlook on purpose.

The Citizen Kane of stoner films. And much like Kane, it will open a lot of eyes, yet it barely scratches the surface and hasn't been seen by the vast majority of people some 5+ years after it's release. It tells the story of the 20th century war on weed like no other film ever could. The only thing I hate about this film is the first line... "Although people around the world have been smoking marijuana for thousands of years, the custom only reached the United States at the beginning of the 20th Century..." This is the same lie that drug warriors have been pushing down people's throats for decades and it is sad that such a great film started on such a false note. "Rosebud" was a much better opening line. But beyond that, this film is quite real. It would be a masterpiece if Ron Mann would pull a George Lucas and make a prequel called 'Hemp' and re-edit this original classic even if only to cull that ridiculous opening line. I know Woody Harrelson knows better, so I will move on. I called this the Citizen Kane of stoner films for a reason. But Grass doesn't even mention W.R. Hearst so I will leave that to Ron Mann, Harrelson and my proposed prequel 'Hemp', which still needs to be made. I understand that Grass was only an 80-minute film and those 80 minutes were used very well so lets move on. The most disturbing moment in this film occurs when JFK acknowledges Anslinger's service and shakes his hand. Okay Woody, maybe your dad was right to put a bullet in his brain... I'm kidding of course, but people in the know will get my joke. My favorite moment... well, there were too many. The Vietnam shotgun scene is an eye-popping gem that is impossible to overlook but since the JFK scene was my most disturbing moment, my favorite was when Jimmy Carter said "I support a change in law to end federal criminal penalties for up to one ounce of marijuana, leaving the states free to adopt whatever laws they wish concerning marijuana." If only Carter had half the pollen sack JFK had, this film wouldn't have been necessary... Actually, I think Reagan and the egg is the best scene in this film. Grass is amazing. It presents so much shocking footage… yet many stones left unturned. I understand that Ron Mann had to take some precautions to get it released much like Orson Welles did. But I demand a prequel… and a sequel. This could be the greatest saga in the history of motion pictures! Please keep it going. It is the first part of a story that needs to be told.

Woody Harrelson narrates on a very interesting and highly informative documentary on the history of US law and drug policy regarding the highly controversial substance cannabis. Highly entertaining and witty with a vast collection of clips and videotapes of politicians, musicians and pot parties. Yet again, the US government has egg on its face as the amount of money spent on the war on marijuana rises, along with the amount of people using it. Exposing some of the blatant ignoring of government reports and findings, Grass moves along a good pace and doesn't get too carried away at any point with statements of how great cannabis, mostly just the facts. However, there is a lot more to the plant that has obviously not been included, as the film focuses around the efforts made by the US government only, and not cannabis as a whole.Definitely an interesting film, with lots to learn from it, but by no means the definitive word on cannabis.

A lot of the discussion about -Grass- both here and in the press has focused on what the film is not. It isn't a documentary about marijuana use, nor is it intended to be. Instead, it's a film about the history of the "war" on marijuana in the U.S. Mann's films are done in a "high" visual style (no joke intended) that is very graphic-intensive. While this isn't to everyone's taste, it does cut through the otherwise heavy use of archival footage. The narration is incisive, but it is kept thankfully to a minimum. The result is a documentary that entertains and instructs. I was somewhat disappointed that the film did not go on in any detail about the post-1980 period, where some of the most interesting battles have been fought. Other than that, -Grass- is an excellent summary of how the "drug war" in the U.S. came to be fought in the way that it is today. I suppose my other disappointment is that the film focuses exclusively on the U.S.; I had hoped that a Canadian such as Ron Mann would have examined the equally interesting history of marijuana prohibition in Canada.-Grass- is well worth a viewing, both for its visual appeal and its committed take on an interesting subject.