Pubdate: Sun, 19 Feb 2012
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2012 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Joanne Ostrow, Denver Post Television Critic

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SPOTLIGHTS FORT COLLINS IN SERIES ON POT WARS

Colorado's medical marijuana business is booming, as is the national 
media coverage on the issue, depicting Colorado as the cutting edge 
in what could be a national move to legalize pot.

The story is catnip to TV producers: controversial, emotional, young- 
skewing and photogenic: the buds, the smoke, the giant greenhouses! 
All you need are a few eccentric characters who will let you film 
them inhaling; a vocal opponent, and a gaggle of hardy brothers whose 
giant growing operation boasts "Bubba Kush" as their top seller.

National Geographic Channel found them.

Add to the already abundant crop of films about Colorado's pot 
industry a National Geographic series - exploring growers, retailers, 
patients, cops, opponents and the political firestorm in one picturesque town.

"American Weed," premiering Wednesday at 8 p.m. on NGC, zeroes in on 
a Fort Collins family confronting the forces who aim to restrict the 
legality of medical marijuana dispensaries.

Shot last fall in the buildup to Fort Collins' vote on Question 300, 
the 10 hour-long episodes of "American Weed" cement the state's 
reputation as "Cannabis Country USA."

The documentary finds plenty of drama, along with greenhouses in the 
woods outside of Denver, and six camera-ready brothers - Joel, Jesse, 
Jonathan, Jordan, Jared and Josh Stanley - who grow and distribute weed.

There's lots to learn ... about pure cannabis pollen, about how to 
transplant a cutting, about a diabetes patient seeking pain relief, 
about the crusader waving signs on street corners to shut down 
dispensaries. And about Question 300, which ultimately banned medical 
marijuana dispensaries in Fort Collins.

NatGeo carefully avoids taking sides.

The various interests are noted, and the series poses a leading, or 
at least loaded, question:

"Is the pendulum swinging back to curb the 10-year proliferation of 
medical marijuana in Colorado?"

The opening hour chronicles the brothers at work and play at the 
grove. After putting their life savings into the idea, they're not 
exactly efficient business operators.

Ticking down the weeks to the vote, a regular customer and an 
opponent hand out leaflets to mostly apathetic students on the 
Colorado State University campus. Obviously, the series will be less 
suspenseful for local viewers familiar with the Question 300 outcome 
than for the broader audience.

The first hour also tracks Sgt. Jim Gerhardt of the North Metro Task 
Force making a bust after middle-schoolers found a patch of marijuana 
growing next to a suburban house. The kids reportedly helped 
themselves. The cancer patient growing the plants is hauled away in cuffs.

In retrospect, Joel Stanley, 32, who lives in Colorado Springs, said 
the opponents of medical marijuana in Fort Collins were better organized.

"Not a lot of people actually show up to vote on these things," he 
said by phone last week. "We could have done a better job of creating 
awareness."

But the family business thrives elsewhere. The Stanleys still have 
one medical marijuana store in Denver and three in Colorado Springs.

There's a misconception "that people in this industry are making a 
lot of money," Stanley said. "You have to invest a lot of money" to be legal.

The Fort Collins battle may be over, but the war rages on, and 
Colorado remains a bright destination for camera crews seeking an angle.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom