Weed Wars: Medical Marijuana Hits Reality TV

By on December 24, 2011 in News 6

From www.reason.tv:

“Most of our patients and our staff were really skeptical about doing a reality TV show because they were watching Jersey Shore and The Kardashians,” says Andrew DeAngelo, general manager of Oakland, California’s Harborside Health Center, the largest medical marijuana dispensary in the world. Andrew and his brother, Harborside’s Executive Director Steve DeAngleo, are co-stars of Weed Wars, a new show by the Discovery Channel that looks into lives of those who run Harborside, the patients that seek out their services, and the politicians looking to shut them down.

“There are a lot of stigmas about medical cannabis patients, that we don’t work hard, that we’re a bunch of stoners, that we are lazy, that we are really criminals or drug traffickers,” explains Andrew DeAngleo. “All that is a lie that has been perpetrated by the feds and the media.” By opening up their work and lives to cameras, the DeAngelo brothers hope to present a side of the medical marijuana debate that is rarely seen on American television. “This is our chance – and our patients and our staff’s chance – to shine.”…

[continues at www.reason.tv]

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  • http://twitter.com/jasonpaulhayes jasonpaulhayes

    Yet another reason I love living in California. Although I don’t use Cannabis, as someone who suffers an incurable autoimmune disease and has limited options in the way of pharmaceuticals, I’m glad to have the option should I need it.

  • DeepCough

    On the one hand, this show “Weed Wars” is helping give a mainstream voice to the cannabis community, but on the other hand, reality shows still run heavily on the concept of “yellow journalism” which is all about the superficial, melodramatic conflict of a story, and if the United States were actually a free nation, “Weed Wars” wouldn’t be necessary in the first place–in any sense of the phrase.

  • Heath

    Having watched an episode of this show I can honestly say that the dispensary’s goal and their leaders agenda of breaking down stigma only furthers it with the way this show is edited and presented. There are many scenes which display that throughout the show, but one stuck in my head and pretty much lost me from that point. The dispensary’s leader and activist is in his dressing room and is trying to decide what to wear to a rally, gets flustered and has to stop and get high before he can decide what to wear..They should have known their portrayal would not be one that would legitimize anything. Although the work they do is good in many forms, they are simply capitalists raping the actual people who need the product for their own personal gain. No drug trail blazing here, its business as usual, and I for one don’t want these guys representing me …If they truly wanted to get away from stigma, a different approach of homeopathic blending with herbs like, skull cap, and Valerian would show the true intentions to stray away from what the rest think as just an intoxicant. The angle played with “CBD” is nonsense as well, ‘CBD” does have psychotropic effects just not that of THC..this is truly sad..

  • truth hurts

    that was THE most uninformed 8 minutes i’ve ever seen.
     1. the tenth amendment to the constitution clearly states that any power not mentioned in said document is up to the states to decide. ( the states have power over the federal government)
     2. we don’t have a “cashless” economy… we have a debt-based economy.
     3. did these guys really think that contributing to a liars campaign would get them anywhere? idiots…
    i’m sure i could go on, but why bother…

  • Tapman55

    I love the show and strongly support the use of medical cannabis.Stephen deangelo should run for president !!! We all know that the true killer out there is  ALCOHOL  I don’t care if it’s legal, alcohol rotts your brain and promotes violence.When’s the last time U seen a high speed car chase with the police arresting some one who has high on cannabis.There all strong out on drugs like meth, crack, alcohol,and cocaine.So lets focus on the greater dangers at hand , before we want to arrest and waste a jail cell for someone getting high.

  • Michael Horney

    dont do it! please leave the “reality” tv shows to the garbage that people think is “real”….just keep doing your awesome jobs and fighting for the marijuana cause without succumbing to the media/government telling us what to do,think,watch…..