If you haven’t heard of Weedmaps, it’s kind of a big deal in the cannabis industry. Weedmaps provides software infrastructure and is one of the big players in cannabis tech and software. Based in California, the company has branched out, producing a docuseries, Uprooted, that takes a close look at the state’s cannabis industry struggles, four years after California legalized weed.
California has been “on the map” for marijuana aficionados for decades — the state’s history with the devil’s lettuce in the black market days came primarily from the Emerald Triangle and was known worldwide. In 1996 the state legalized medical marijuana and, from there, legalized recreational adult-use cannabis in 2016. Long story short, it’s been a complicated journey; Weedmaps gives the public a comprehensive glimpse into the past, present, and future of cannabis in California.
You can watch the three-part series yourself for no charge at weedmaps.com/uprooted.
The series includes interviews with folks across the cannabis spectrum, from experts and advocates to dispensary owners. The series delves into the fractures between groups (including governors) that considered cannabis dispensaries essential businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, to California municipalities that ban cannabis operations (a surprising 70%). The twists and turns include how many lawmakers, who once considered cannabis an evil ‘gateway drug’ on par with heroin, now tout the abundant tax revenue cannabis generates.
The series deftly uncovers the simple-yet-complicated history of cannabis in California, from the infighting resulting from Proposition 64 to social equity/inequity due to prior convictions related to a now-legal, regulated and taxed product.
Episode ONE reveals the tides of change from 1996 to 2016 and exposes the lessons learned from medical legalization to recreational cannabis.
Episode TWO covers the “decompassionized cannabis” in California as the unintended consequences of Proposition 64 resulted in challenges for patients and providers alike. Cannabis advocates took center stage as they fought for the Dennis Perone and Brownie Mary Act, signed into law in 2020.
Episode THREE shows who is really affected by overregulation, from exorbitant taxes to social equity, who really ended up as unintended victims of the War on Drugs. The industry’s current state is included, as lawmakers and regulators attempt to make a functional framework for what is seen by some as a saving grace and by others as an unnecessary nuisance.
