HoneySuckle Magazine
No Result
View All Result
  • Culture
  • Gender & Sexuality
  • Racial Politics
    • Black Lives Matter
    • Politics
  • Environment
    • Spirituality
      • Honey Drip
    • Health & Wellness
SHOP
Honey Suckle Magazine
  • Culture
  • Gender & Sexuality
  • Racial Politics
    • Black Lives Matter
    • Politics
  • Environment
    • Spirituality
      • Honey Drip
    • Health & Wellness
No Result
View All Result
Honey Suckle Magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home Events

Making the Grass Greener

November 3, 2020
Reading Time: 5min read
0
Making the Grass Greener

exc-5e5c47f970348541c8d8f1ee

RELATED POSTS

Veriheal Provides Access to Medical Marijuana Doctors for NJ Patients

New Jersey Faces Roadblock in Path to Marijuana Legalization 

How CBD Can Help Achieve Your New Year’s Resolutions

ADVERTISEMENT

Last Wednesday, May 29th, a special screening of Grass is Greener hosted by Minorities for Medical Marijuana (M4MM) at SoHo Playhouse continued the legacy of rewriting the building’s prohibition history. As Brian, the playhouse’s general manager, joked with the audience: “You could smell marijuana, but most importantly, you don’t.”

His quip was an allusion to the slow de-stigmatization of cannabis that is resulting from the work of groups like M4MM, as SoHo playhouse was part of New York City’s originally speakeasy during alcohol prohibition- Tammany Hall. Before an overview of Manhattan displayed an entire island covered in concrete, SoHo playhouse’s block was the final stronghold of urban life abutting the hemp fields that surrounded the city.

Now, Brian considers SoHo Playhouse a “weedeasy”, ushering in a new generation of those fighting cannabis prohibition and all of the destruction that it has wrought. At this event, by teaming up with M4MM, the playhouse continued its mission of “connecting Cannabis to the arts in a SoHo revival.”

After a light reception, attendees of the screening settled in to watch Grass is Greener, and no matter how many times an audience has seen the documentary, its impact never diminishes. Directed by MTV’s Fab 5 Freddy, this documentary tracks cannabis through jazz, rap, and hip hop to engage with the destruction wrought by the War on Drugs on communities of color.

The documentary’s star-studded lineup includes Snoop Dog, Damian Marley, Steven Hager of High Times, and B-Real of Cypress Hill all sharing the same message: cannabis should be legalized for countless reasons, but the most important is its ability to repair damage done to communities of color. Legislators, mothers, and stars alike detail the harrowing imprisonment of friends and family, victim to mandatory minimum sentencing for even carrying cannabis.

Reparations need to be made as cannabis legislation opens the door for legitimate profit in the industry: people of color should have forwarded licensing processes, records must be expunged, and the imprisonment of black and brown men for cannabis related “crimes” must end. 

Following the screening, M4MM organized a panel of some of the most educated activists on reparations in the emerging cannabis industry. The evening’s hostess and M4MM CEO Roz McCarthy moderated the panel of Gia Morón of Women Grow, Leo Bridgewater, Alex Lleras from Weedmaps, and Fab 5 Freddy, himself.

Fab 5 Freddy discussed his involvement with the film and the devastating well of injustice behind cannabis prohibition, and now legislation. The information presented in Grass is Greener, he says, merely scratches the surface of the legislative attention, accessible context, and accurate portrayal of history that is necessary to begin to rectify the wrongs done, and still being committed, by the War on Drugs. He urged viewers to reach out to elected officials to really make a change. 

The panel continued with contributions from all participants, especially Leo Bridgewater, about the misinformation spread about cannabis. He said: “The misinformation about this plant (cannabis), including hemp, is grossly below basic.” Not only does objective education begin in schools, but it must reach older generations as well. This education could begin the reparations necessary in the cannabis industry: “The facilitation of a massive, massive transfer of wealth”, to communities of color who could have legally been receiving that income for generations.

Gia Morón returned to the topic of SoHo Playhouse and the arts as a resource and a conduit. It is communities like these, participatory education like this, and documentaries like Grass is Greener that will allow cannabis to emerge from the speakeasy scene and promote healing and reparations in the communities of color that have been ravaged.

—

GRASS IS GREENER is now available to watch on Netflix. View it here.

Stay tuned for more on GRASS IS GREENER, Fab 5 Freddy, and innovations in the cannabis community in our upcoming print edition THE GREEN ISSUE: Sex, Plants & Rock ‘n’ Roll!

—

Annie Iezzi is a second-year student at Barnard College of Columbia University, studying English and Political Science and writing in her  scarce (and cherished) free time.

Tags: #latesthoney#nycCannabisDamian MarleyFab 5 FreddyGia MoronGrass is GreenerlegalizationM4MMRoz McCarthyscreeningSoHo PlayhouseWar on Drugs
Share79Tweet
Annie Iezzi

Annie Iezzi

Annie Iezzi is a student at Barnard College of Columbia University, studying English and Political Science and writing in her scarce (and cherished) free time.

Related Posts

Medical Marijuana, Cannabis, Medical Cannabis, New Jersey
Honey Pot

Veriheal Provides Access to Medical Marijuana Doctors for NJ Patients

Phil Murphy, New Jersey, Marijuana Legalization,
Honey Pot

New Jersey Faces Roadblock in Path to Marijuana Legalization 

How CBD Can Help Achieve Your New Year’s Resolutions
Honey Pot

How CBD Can Help Achieve Your New Year’s Resolutions

Jason Gann Talks Cannabis and Wilfred Pre-Rolls
Honey Pot

Jason Gann Talks Cannabis and Wilfred Pre-Rolls

The picture says The Vagina Marijuanalogues 3 Media Sponsor HoneySuckle.
Honey Pot

The Vagina Marijuanalogues 3: A Night To Remember

An avatar walking through a virtual expo.
Honey Pot

Emerge Cannabis Conference: A Virtual Experience

Next Post
Making the Grass Greener

Bubbly Brown Sugar: An Ode to Black Love and the Law of Attraction

sugar-and-kush

HOW SWEET IT IS: GETTING HAPPY WITH SUGAR & KUSH CBD

Discussion about this post

Recommended Stories

Making the Grass Greener

Deepsea Challenge 3D: James Cameron — the Man who gave us Avatar and Titanic — takes us on another Incredible Journey

Making the Grass Greener

Hex Gear Hex Detroit

Making the Grass Greener

RETRO: Surrealism 101: A Night in August 1944 (Fiction/Excerpt)

Popular Stories

  • On Secret Sex Work, Cardi B, and Finding Liberty

    On Secret Sex Work, Cardi B, and Finding Liberty

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Unbound: King Noire on Kink, Porn, and Polyamory

    291 shares
    Share 291 Tweet 0
  • Illegal Cannabis is Unconstitutional: Hiller PC Takes Landmark Case to Supreme Court

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Michigan Department of Corrections Under Fire for Failing to Take Appropriate Measures to Combat Covid-19

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Power of Your Life Path Number

    14 shares
    Share 14 Tweet 0
Honeysuckle Magazine

Honeysuckle Magazine provides an outlet that emphasizes diverse perspectives and creative expression. Wise, yet provocative, we aim to normalize the discussions of taboo topics.

Recent Articles

  • Investing in Psychedelics: Discussing Therapeutic Potential, Intellectual Property, and Future Development at the Global Go Conference
  • The Trials and Triumphs Women Faced in 2020
  • How to Eat Like a Vegan Bodybuilder

Download the Apps

Honeysuckle on Apple App Store
Honeysuckle on Google Play Store

About Honeysuckle

  • About Us
  • Team
  • Press & Awards

© Copyright 2020 Honeysuckle Magazine, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

No Result
View All Result
  • Culture
  • Gender & Sexuality
  • Racial Politics
  • Sustainability and Environment
    • Spirituality
    • Health & Wellness
  • Honeysuckle Studios
  • Honey Pot
  • Shop
  • Honey Drip

© Copyright 2020 Honeysuckle Magazine, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?