Feel free to share any links to canna-related documentaries you find to be informative, interesting, or just entertaining!
A Life in Hashistan is about filmmaker and photographer Chris Turner and his life’s expeditions through Afghanistan, and the culture of hash production and smoking that exists there. The documentary is in many parts so you will need to look for the following one in the search bar on Youtube. Enjoy!
Part one was interesting!
Part 2:
Do you have any affiliation with this documentary? There are a few curious incongruities about it’s makers and their backgrounds.
Nope. I found it to be fascinating and thought I’d share. As with anything on the internet, take it with a grain of salt and viewer beware. I see this more as entertainment than a highly-factual film.
I think he touches on the involvement of American intelligence and his relationship with it in regards to his connections with Afghanistan. He basically says he regrets getting involved with the political side of things, at the same time it opened many doors. Afghanistan is still very much the wild west of the world and probably will remain that way well after our lives. As the saying goes, the first casualty of war is always truth.
Then you’d think he’d have, at some point, distanced himself from that apparatus and not chased it in the most opportunistic manner possible, even after the ‘documentary’ was made. Anyway, I am not a hypocrite; I am not judging anyone for their participation in that field, in that part of the world. I just find his lack of authenticity and honesty in that documentary off-putting, that’s all, and very reminiscent of the sleazy, grifter culture that defined and dominated that time and place, at least in terms of western participation. I’ve met a lot of people like that in those parts of the world, but you’re right, it is an entertaining video.
edited to add: I am just going to be blunt. Filmmakers don’t pick up guns. People like him spend time in conflict zones, chasing contracts, and being an ego driven ‘source’ for intelligence officers. It’s peak level grift and sleaze. He’s not a filmmaker and that’s not a documentary. At least now the grift is elegant and well packaged now that investment bankers and insurance firms are involved. It’s a fun video, but that guy is a symptom of a cancer that has infected that region for a long time now and they are painful to be around and even harder to manage, especially considering their tenuous relationship with truth.
The Science of Marijuana-- PBS Documentary
I believe it’s no longer public (you have to buy it) but The Botany of Desire is a good one. It isn’t specifically on cannabis but does a good job of explaining its significance to humanity and its role in the modern world.
A Life in Hashistan in the first two parts were very interesting. I was always interested in the hashish smoking culture there in the Middle East. Who does it? Where it is sold?
Combined with a few guys on Instagram that I follow regularly I became increasingly curious and didn’t know where to learn more. This explains it pretty well. Very fascinating. Thanks for sharing.