'The Culture High' is an engaging, important but undisciplined documentary. It details many important facts, namely, the relative harmlessness of marijuana, relative other other legal and illegal drugs; the use of prohibition to fill up a prison system almost as if this was its purpose, and moreover to do so in racially discriminatory way; the role of special interests in directing politics; and the banality of mainstream news coverage. So what's not to like? Fristly, I can quite believe the the cannabis plant has the potential to be used as the source of a number of potentially valuable medical products; but watch this film, and you'd believe it to be truly a wonder-substance, the most valuable ever plant for the benefits of human health. Secondly, the film spreads its scope too wide. So we get a familiar, shallow list of complaints about contemporary society: that democracy is imperfect, money corrupts politics, in capitalism everything happens for a profit-driven reason. Indeed, one thing that's interesting about current initiatives to legalise marijuana (but not covered here) is exactly the financial incentives driving the system to long overdue change. Which in this case, I feel to be for the best; but to believe that a new generation of Internet informed citizens are going to transform society over old vested interests, with the legalisation of the "wonder drug" marijuana as just the first step, is woefully naive. The film is much stronger when it stays on topic and looks at America's police state. The good news is that slowly, the tide seems to be turning; as participants in 'The Culture High' themselves tell us, eventually, the film itself will appear like an anachronism, the product of a less rational time.

If you are of the opinion that corporations run the world and see a powerful conspiracy supporting every policy with which you don't agree, this is the film to confirm your worldview. If you would like to be educated on the failure of marijuana prohibition, the first 45 minutes of this movie does a decent job. But then it spins out into a disjointed, paranoid analysis of everything from media to campaign finance to drug development and beyond. It is really disappointing to invest 45 minutes, be tantalized by the beginnings of a good argument for marijuana law reform, then watch it get more and more ridiculous. Anybody that subscribes to the conspiracy theories played out in the last hour or so of the movie are people who already think marijuana laws need reform. The second half of the movie kills the credibility of the first half. Most people who are undecided on the issue are going to be lost an hour into the movie. Missed opportunity to convey a powerful message.

This is only a fair documentary about the idea of legalizing marijuana. I have certainly seen better--mostly because the other documentaries had a much tighter focus as well as a more logical set of arguments. The film seems to not only call for the legalization of marijuana but also seems to be very pro-marijuana. To show this, the film often blends various experts with folks who just love to get high (such as Snoop Dog and some other rappers). What follows are MANY different sort of arguments concerning the positive reasons to legalize pot but as I mentioned above, it seems to often make some great points and then go off in another direction entirely-- overwhelming the viewer a bit. The same can be said for the very rapid inter-cutting of scenes---it is a bit overwhelming. Also, the film did occasionally make factual errors--claiming that hysteria and prosecution of pot began in the 1970s! This flies in the face of a lot of anti-pot films from the 1930s (such as "Reefer Madness") and the passage of the original laws banning pot. Overall, the film is convincing at times and makes a lot of good points but it also seems more like ill-focused propaganda.By the way, if you are wondering, I am pro-legalization and wanted to like this film far more than I did.

I watched this documentary last night. Wow, it nails the reasons why marijuana is illegal in the USA. There are two very powerful lobby groups at work - the pharmaceutical industry who stand to lose billions if the natural plant gets a medicinal foothold - and, surprisingly, the US private prison system whose profits are in serious jeopardy if possession is decriminalized. Some states in the USA have legal contracts with minimum quotas of prisoners to supply to these commercial prisons... Few politicians are brave enough to tackle the issue, and Obama has turned out to be the most manipulated President in history on this issue. Not just the subject material, this is a really well made documentary that has meticulously sought out relevant archival material and conducted many interviews with experts and retired law enforcement personnel who can now speak their minds. A riveting two hours that really held my attention. Seek out this film and watch it.