Grass is Greener Doc a Fresh Look on the Harsh History of Marijuana [REVIEW]

Title: Grass Is Greener
 Director: Fab 5 Freddy
 Cast: Snoop Dogg, B-Real, Steven Hager, Damian Marley
 Studio: Netflix
 Running Time: 97 minutes
 Rating: TV-MA  

This week, news was released that Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’ proposal to legalize medical marijuana will not be included in the next state budget, despite overwhelming support from the state of Wisconsin. This is thanks to out-of-touch GOP legislators; one state senator even called the proposal “off the wall scary,” in light of the fact that a million people voted in support of medical or recreational legalization in the 2018 marijuana referendum. It is abundantly clear that marijuana is a divisive issue between lawmakers and the average citizen, even though medical marijuana is now legal in 33 states and counting.  

It can be a depressing task to research this topic, but with streaming services like Netflix, there has been more media content than ever on the issue, including a new documentary that was released on the platform on 4/20, called Grass is Greener and, while some might think this movie as a self-congratulatory “stoner flick,” strictly for potheads, there is much more beneath the surface in this comprehensive guide through the history of marijuana in America, and its reform in subsequent years.  

The film is directed by legendary rapper and filmmaker Fab 5 Freddy, who not only wrote what is regarded as the first hip hop movie, Wild Style, but was also the face of Yo! MTV Raps, which helped bring hip-hop artists and their music to mainstream audiences. I had no idea he directed this film until the opening credits, and it quickly becomes clear why he was the perfect choice to guide this movie with footage and interviews. He’s not only an expert on hip-hop, which comes into play later in the film, but he is a marijuana advocate and an experienced interviewer and the first hour is dedicated to not only the history of weed but also the music that surrounded it through the last 100 years.

This musical focus is what set the film apart from other weed documentaries I have seen, many of which are still available on Netflix. Films like The Legend of 420 and A Life of Its Own: The Truth About Medical Marijuana explore different issues, but I’ve never seen a focus on weed’s effect on music, particularly with strictly African-American and Latino acts, and the results were refreshing to say the least. The doc discusses acts like Louis Armstrong and his groundbreaking concept of a marijuana card, to Bob Marley and the Rastafarian movement, and more recently to hip hop artists like Cypress Hill (who recently got a star on the Walk of Fame) and Snoop Dogg, who called himself a modern extension of what Cheech and Chong and Willie Nelson were to their era, and it’s hard to argue against that.

Another surprising aspect of the documentary was how the last forty minutes feature really heartfelt accounts of the negative effects that criminalization has had, particularly on minorities. This spans families that have been torn apart due to harsh prison sentences (disproportionately affecting blacks and Latinos), minority entrepreneurs who feel like they are not welcome in the legalized business climate in certain states, and how the propaganda and fear mongering of marijuana was used to justify the murders of African-Americans like Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and Philando Castile, and the film does so in an effectively respectful and moving way. The music is also a highlight that is lacking from other marijuana documentaries, and it is constantly pulsing throughout. Whether the film is playing Jazz from the 20s when they used terms like “jive” to refer to weed, Bob Marley’s classic song about the plant, “Kia,” or several New York hip hop songs (from artists like Redman and Notorious B.I.G.) that shouted out their local dealer—perfectly mirroring what Jazz artists were doing subliminally decades earlier—it is easy for the viewer to see patterns reflected in both the history and music regarding marijuana.

The film features several talking heads like rapper Killer Mike, Dr. Carl Hart who is the Chair of the Psychology Department for Columbia University and Kassandra Frederique, the New York State Director of Drug Policy Alliance. All of these perspectives take a sociological look at aspects of the medicinal benefits of marijuana weighed against the Schedule 1 classification, which says there are no benefits, as well as the prison system that benefits from jailing people with low level crimes like marijuana possession or dealing.  

The film is not perfect; some of the graphics that showed statistics were moving too rapidly or were shot at awkward angles making it hard to read. Also a graphic showing all of the legalized states, showed that marijuana is medically legal in Wisconsin, which is not true. This is not a documentary that is going to convince scared senators against their “reefer madness” education on marijuana, nor may it entertain people just looking for a good 4/20 movie, but I think it is an effective look at the racist history of the demonizing of marijuana (the Nixon recordings were tough to listen to) and the laws that still enforce them to this day.

My Rating: 3 out of 4 stars