With adult cannabis now legal in 22 states and Washington, D.C., it’s hard to remember a time when federal agencies raided dispensaries in California to deny medical marijuana patients access to their medication. But in 2010, the threat was very real.
American Bowl Story: Oak Amsterdam It chronicles the journey that leading cannabis advocates and concerned citizens took at the heart of Oak Amsterdam (OU). Award-winning directors Dan Katzir and Ravit Marcus He spent a decade with OU founder Richard Lee and executive consultant Dale Sky Jones During their campaign efforts to get California’s Prop 19 – a measure to legalize cannabis – on the ballot in California.
After becoming a paraplegic and discovering cannabis provided him with better relief than some conventional medications, in 2007 visionary entrepreneur Lee founded OU, the nation’s first cannabis school. His goal for the university was to provide students with a high-quality curriculum, with subjects ranging from agriculture to advocacy to business administration. To this day, OU remains the most trusted and distinguished name in cannabis education.
Katzir and Marcus were inspired to produce the documentary one morning in early 2010 when it appeared the lawn was on its way to legalization. The film’s producer, Marcus, says she was initially hesitant about the subject matter, but her partner Katsir was determined to depict the revolution. The research and legalization of cannabis begins, leading them to discover that a drug policy fuels the prison’s industrial complex.
“I knew the people in our movie were fighting a good fight and it was worth documenting,” says Marcus.
The film shows the gritty reality of civil resistance and the lengths to which the feds would go to punish Oak University Amsterdam, its founder and faculty. Quoting former Attorney General Eric Holder from the film, “Even if voters start betting, the Feds will ignore Proposition 19.”
Despite intimidating federal agents, a deep passion for the plant united and empowered OU supporters to rise in the face of oppression to effect nationwide change in cannabis legalization. For Katsir, the most important thing for audiences to take away from a movie is that change is possible, no matter how long it takes or the compromises you have to make in the name of progress.
“Small progress opens the door to more progress,” says Katzir. “Especially at a time when in some areas we feel like we’re falling behind, it’s important to remember that when people come together, great things can happen.”
American Bowl Story: Oak Amsterdam It debuted at The University of Auckland’s 15th Anniversary Celebration at the Fox Theatre, Auckland, on 24 September 2022. Katsir and Marcus went on to win “Best Film Depicting the Spirit of Oakland” at the preview screening at the Auckland International Film Festival that same year. The film will have its world premiere at the prestigious Slamdance Film Festival in Utah in January 2023. More info at AmericanPotStory.com and social media channels @AmericanPotStory.
This story was originally published in Issue 47 printed edition of hemp now.
