This time around, I sat down and watched a movie called The Culture High. The Culture High is a documentary exploring marijuana prohibition.
This documentary affords a no-holds-barred examination of marijuana prohibition in the United States. Note that this movie is staunchly in favor of ending prohibition and the War on Drugs at large, so if you're looking for something "objective", this isn't the film for you. But then again, if you're looking for information in favor of the War on Drugs, you're probably not at all the target audience in any case.
A wide range of individuals are interviewed and provide their perspective on prohibition. Snoop Dogg and Joe Rogan make an appearance in addition to a bevy of experts, scientists, lawyers, pundits, and police officers.
The thing that's the most interesting about this film is that it starts with a historical perspective and then moves into the current factors and vested interests in keeping marijuana illegal. Obviously, money pouring in from all sides is the main factor. Police want to keep their absolutely fucked up civil forfeiture laws, for-profit prisons want to keep their populations up, and pharmaceutical companies don't want any competition.
There were points in this movie where I got legitimately angry. I knew things were bad, but I had no idea how bad they were. If you're curious about marijuana prohibition and why the War on Drugs is a thing, you need to absolutely watch this movie.