All language subtitles for National.Geographic.Drugs.Inc.S01E04.Marijuana.720p.HDTV.DD5.1.x264-DON_track3_eng

Narrator: Marijuana is the
most widely used illicit

drug on the planet.

To many, it's
an evil weed.

But to some, it's
a sacred herb.

Reverend Cherms: It's
our God given right to

use the tree of life .

Narrator: Still for
others, it's a lifesaver.

Greg Scott: I would be
dead from AIDS if I had

not smoked.

Narrator: For decades the
global supply of marijuana

was controlled
by criminals.

Eduardo Martinez: There in
it strictly for the money

and they're
willing to kill.

Narrator: But now it's a
quasi-legal industry worth

billions of dollars, and
business is booming.

Producers, traffickers,
dealers, users, doctors,

police, they're all part
of the $300 billion global

industry that is,
Drugs Incorporated.

Marijuana is a
psychoactive plant

commonly known as
cannabis, grass, pot,

or weed.

Used by 167 million
people worldwide,

marijuana polarizes
public opinion,

with one side trying to
legitimize the plant,

and the other trying to
wipe it off the planet.

In 1970, the US Federal
Government passed the

Controlled Substances Act
classifying marijuana as a

Schedule 1 drug,
just like heroin.

This designates the drug
as having a high potential

for abuse, with no
medicinal value.

But not everyone agrees.

In defiance of
Federal law,

at least 14 US states now
allow patients to grow or

purchase marijuana on a
doctor's recommendation.

Chief among these rebel
states is California.

Oakland resident Juliet
Hopper works as a

management consultant.

For the past 10 years she
has battled both cervical

cancer and fibromyalgia,
a condition that causes

intense pain in her
muscles and bones.

Juliet Hopper: From my
neck all the way down I'm

in a lot of pain.

The best way I
can describe, um,

an FM flare-up, which is
what I'm dealing with

right now, is someone
taking a baseball bat to

your major joints and just
hitting you as hard as

they can for hours.

And that's the pain that
you're dealing with.

It's unending nerve pain.

Narrator: While
living in Ohio,

Juliet took a large number
of pain medications that

slowly destroyed her
liver and kidneys.

Even though Ohio prohibits
medical marijuana,

her physician privately
recommended she try it.

Juliet Hopper: I've been
using a measuring spoon to

kinda create a diary of
what works best for my

pain management
and my symptoms.

Narrator: Marijuana
contains a complex mixture

of more than 60 unique
active compounds known as

cannabinoids.

The two most abundant are
Tetrahydro-cannabinol,

or THC, and
cannabidiol, or CBD.

When ingested, the
compounds attach

themselves to
cannabinoid receptors,

the molecules that affect
neural signals in the

parts of the brain
governing memory, anxiety,

appetite,
coordination and pain.

Juliet uses a vaporizer
to consume her medical

marijuana.

Juliet Hopper: It heats up
the cannabinoids enough to

be able to release the
medicine as a vapor,

but it doesn't get hot
enough to where it's

combusting a plant, which
is usually the biggest

problem that most people
have with utilizing

cannabis as a medicine,
is that they see that

combustion is, putting
tars and carcinogens into

your body.

Narrator: Initially,
Juliet was wary of

consuming an illegal drug.

Juliet Hopper: I was the
Reaganistic child of 'just

say no' don't do drugs.

Oh my God, cannabis will
lead you to heroin.

I think one of the biggest
battles that any cannabis

patient has, is because
we still feel guilty.

Society tells us that we're
doing something horrible.

Narrator: In March 2009,

Juliet moved to California
so that she could no

longer be breaking the
law by consuming medical

marijuana.

Juliet Hopper: It's almost
like a nice little,

meditation ritual.

Narrator: For Juliet,
marijuana offers the

chance of living
a normal life.

Juliet Hopper: It does
just alleviate that inner

angst.

It kinda blocks that
feeling of intense pain

and, I get antsy and edgy
when I'm in pain and I

don't realize
that I'm barking,

and in my line of work
barking is not very

useful.

So it alleviates that and
it literally calms my

psyche down enough to be
able to focus and get my

job done, and
enjoy living.

It's not necessarily a
cure all for everyone but

it's definitely something
to try that won't kill

your kidneys.

Narrator: California's
tolerance toward medical

marijuana dates back to
the early outbreaks of

AIDS in the 1980s.

Dr. Marc Conant: Hello,
Greg, have a seat.

Narrator: San Francisco
Dermatologist,

Dr. Marc Conant is one of
the world's leading AIDS

experts.

He's been at the forefront
of the fight against HIV

since 1981.

Dr. Marc Conant: We
were treating them with

chemotherapy.

That caused nausea
and vomiting.

So the patients would come
in and say: I can't keep

the medicine down.

Have you heard, Doctor,
that smoking marijuana

will stop the nausea?

What drugs are you
currently taking?

Greg Scott: Currently,
I'm taking Raltegraviir.

Dr. Marc Conant: There
were other benefits as

well.

It relieves pain, it
stimulates appetite,

and the patients
themselves discovered that

smoking marijuana was more
effective than any of the

other things we prescribed.

You lost weight.

Narrator: Navy
Veteran Greg Scott,

a patient of Dr. Conant's
was first diagnosed with

HIV in 1987.

His health
rapidly declines.

Greg Scott: Well, I was
very sick with Stage IV

terminal AIDS in 1993 and 1994.

Narrator: Greg's weight
drops due to the

medication he takes
to stay alive.

Greg Scott: There was
nothing they could give me

except pretty much
this one drug, AZT,

that didn't
work very well.

And so I had wasted away
to less than 120 pounds

and I, I was dying.

Narrator: Greg suffers
from a form of anorexia,

know as HIV
wasting syndrome.

Dr. Marc Conant: Sit
here and face me.

Narrator: Essentially
dying from starvation,

Greg begins
smoking marijuana,

which is known to
stimulate appetite,

giving users the so
called "munchies".

Dr. Marc Conant:
Take a deep breath.

Narrator: The marijuana
keeps Greg eating while

better life-saving HIV
drugs are developed.

Greg Scott: I would have
been dead from AIDS before

those drugs were available
if I had not smoked to

maintain my body weight.

Narrator: In 1996,
California passes

Proposition 215, a state
law allowing doctors to

recommend marijuana
to patients.

Dr. Marc Conant: The
doctor doesn't dispense it.

The doctor can't write
a prescription for it

because the pharmacy
doesn't, doesn't carry it.

All the doctor can do is
to indicate that in his or

her considered opinion
this patient would profit

from using marijuana.

Narrator: Once a
patient has a doctor's

recommendation, they can
legally grow their own or

purchase marijuana
from a dispensary.

This so called
"Cannabusiness" is

booming.

Like ordinary goods,
marijuana is subject to a

sales tax.

California has up to 400,000

medical marijuana patients.

Serving them are an
estimated 2,100

dispensaries and co-operatives,

that's more than the
state's Starbucks,

McDonald's and
7-11s combined.

Juliet Hopper: I'm doing
great, how about you?

Narrator: Which is good
news for Juliet Hopper.

Today she's visiting the
Harborside Health Center

in Oakland that supplies
her medical marijuana.

Juliet Hopper: I am
dealing with a flare up of

my FM today, so I need
something that's got a

higher level of CBD.

Dispenser: Well let's
see what we have here.

Narrator: Here patients
choose from some 100

different marijuana
products,

that cost between 30 and
60 dollars for an eighth

of an ounce.

Dispenser:
Something like this.

This is an Aghani cross.

Narrator: The
Harborside has 38,000

registered patients.

Steve DeAngelo: We have
created a 100% closed loop

distribution system that
insulates our patients

from any contact with
the illegal market.

The way that we do that is
by only serving people who

are verified as being
legal medical cannabis

patients, and only
accepting medicine from

people who are also
legally qualified medical

cannabis patients who have
chosen to join our collective.

Patient: Hey, Rick.

Rick: How you doing?

Patient: Good,
how are you?

Narrator: Registered
patients legally grow

medical marijuana and
sell it to the Harborside

collective.

In the back office they
ensure the marijuana meets

the high standards needed
to qualify it as medicine.

Rick: Yeah, this
is very nice.

Nice manicuring job.

Narrator: The buds are
examined under a powerful

microscope to check for
mold or tiny pests like

spider mites.

Harborside Official: If
you put this under the

200x microscope you can
see spider mites with

their little faces,
and their little legs.

They look, they
look scary, and,

we don't want that in
any of our medicine,

we don't want any of our
patients smoking bugs.

Narrator: The last 15
years have seen a medical

revolution across America.

Doctors are recommending
marijuana for everything

from cancer to stress.

But critics say the system
is abused by recreational

users, who exploit medical
endorsement to bypass the law.

Despite being legal
under state law,

dispensary owners still
risk prosecution under

federal drug laws which
do not recognize medical

marijuana.

Steve DeAngelo: If I was
arrested by the Federal

Government and taken to
prison and locked up,

the very day that they
released me I would be

back here and I would be
serving patients again,

and I would do so until
they took me away and

changed again.

When you see people who
are dying and who are

suffering, whose lives are
saved by this medicine,

it's impossible
not to help them.

Narrator: The conflict
between state and federal

law also causes problems
for patients like Juliet.

Dispenser: Will
that work for you?

Juliet Hopper:
Looks great.

Thank you.

It's a kind of a, a tough
black cloud to live under,

that you can't go outside
of a medical cannabis

state.

You run the risk of
either going without the

medicine, which is not
a choice that I am not

willing to go.

I'd rather risk being
prosecuted, um,

than have to be without
my medicine because

the pain is just not worth it.

Narrator: The California
medical marijuana

revolution is powered by
advances in horticultural

science.

By growing
marijuana indoors,

it can be cultivated
anywhere on the planet.

This revolution started
more than 5,000

miles away, in Holland.

Amsterdam.

Like California, suppliers
here walk a tightrope

between what's legal,
and what's not.

For the past 25 years,
Arjan Roskam has been at

the forefront of the
semi-legal Dutch marijuana

industry.

Arjan Roskam: Pretty good.

My passion for cannabis
started when I was, 18,

I was travelling around
the north of Thailand.

One, it's a very
very fine sativa,

and it has a very
nice mental high.

And I met a very old
medicine man and he was

treating heroin junkies
with marijuana,

and he said to me that
this plant has a very very

big value for society.

And he also said that the
plant was so powerful that

in the future it could
overthrow governments.

When he said this to me I
thought, hm, you're crazy,

man.

He basically said to me go
back to Holland and start

growing this plant, and
it will give you great

benefit and wealth in the
future and it will be make

you very happy.

And that's when
it really started.

Narrator: Holland
is a small,

densely populated country
in Northern Europe.

It's famous for clogs,
canals, and sex and drugs.

The climate in Holland
isn't suited to growing

marijuana, so Roskam
experiments with growing

it indoors.

Arjan Roskam: When I was
18 in Holland nobody was

doing this, I
was the only one,

two or three more guys, I
had to learn everything.

I would try out 4
different nutrients in one

plant variety.

And the next time I would
have tried out 4 different

lights.

And the time after that
I would have tried out 7

different companies of
soil with one variety.

So at the end of
the crop I can,

really see very clear
which soil for which

particular plant would
have been very very good.

Narrator: Growing
marijuana indoors requires

powerful lamps that
replicate the sun's light

spectrum.

During the initial
growth period,

the lamps operate
for 18 hours a day,

imitating long
summer days.

Then the timers are
reduced to 12 hours a day,

and the plants believe
it's fall and begin to

flower.

The flowers, or buds, of
the female plant contain

the most THC, the
psychoactive compound that

produces the high.

This illegal grow room is
owned by one of Arjan's

contacts.

The plants are grown
from seeds that Arjan

developed.

Arjan Roskam: And this
is Arjan's ultra haze 1.

A very nice sativa, maybe
one of the best in the

world.

Narrator: In 1993 Roskam
enters his pot into the

Cannabis Cup, a US
competition sponsored by

High Times Magazine.

Arjan Roskam: They really
liked my stuff and they

said: this is the new kid
on the block and this is

the stuff we really
should all smoke.

MC: Winner of
best of all three.

Narrator: Winning the
competition changes his

life.

The magazine puts him
on the front cover,

and overnight Arjan
becomes a celebrity pot

star.

Busta Rhymes:
Congratulations.

Arjan Roskam: They gave
me the nickname King of

Cannabis.

Busta Rhymes: This is
what we call royalty,

Cannabis King Salute.

Narrator: Demand for
his product soars.

Arjan Roskam: We had so
much coverage that all the

tourists came to Amsterdam
and came straight to us.

Narrator: Roskam founds
the Greenhouse Seed

Company, a legitimate
business selling marijuana

seeds around the world.

He no longer grows illegal
marijuana: his plants are

now grown legally outside
of Holland for the

specific purpose of
producing seeds.

Arjan's seeds are
hybrids of the two basic

subspecies of cannabis,
Indica and Sativa.

This engineering produces
different flavors and

different effects.

Arjan Roskam: The cannabis
sativa is grown around the

equator.

It's a mental high,
it's a long plant,

with slim leaves
and slim buds.

And the indica is a
smaller plant and it's

more, a body stoned.

Narrator: To create
his unique strains,

Arjan scours the world for
different varieties of

marijuana seed.

Arjan Roskam: With
my partner Franco,

we go into the jungles
of far away countries,

could be Colombia, could
be Jamaica, Africa.

Narrator: The worldwide
market for new marijuana

varieties is huge.

And developing new, more
potent strains keeps

Roskam's seed
company in business.

Arjan is travelling
to Malawi,

in search of a strain
alleged to be the best in

Africa.

It's known as
'Malawi gold'.

Arjan Roskam: Our
expeditions are very

complicated, they
cost a lot of money.

You start searching,
you start smoking,

you speak to the locals,
from there on you go far

and far and try to
find the fields.

And try to find
the original.

Narrator: In developing
countries along the

equator, marijuana is
easily cultivated because

of the warm
tropical climate.

In countries like Malawi,
marijuana is a lucrative

cash crop, and a
means of survival.

Arjan Roskam: Malawi's a
very very poor country.

A whole village or a whole
family is depending on

this harvest, and if
they lose this harvest,

some kids die basically.

Narrator: After 10 days
of trekking in the mud,

Roskam and his partner
Franco strike gold.

They take seed samples of
the finest Malawi plants

to bring back to Holland.

Farmer: This is
very good, yeah?

This.

Franco: I'm seriously
impressed by this,

how long you grow?

Farmer: Thank
you very much.

Franco: Thank you.

Arjan Roskam: You're
a good farmer.

Narrator: Arjan keeps a
seed bank that has close

to 2000 different
strains of marijuana.

Arjan Roskam: These are
all samples with all the

codes from where they
come and which kind of

varieties.

Narrator: Arjan's
creations blend different

strains to create
potent hybrids,

with exotic names like
Super Lemon Haze and Great

White Shark.

He then sells them
for a hefty profit.

Arjan Roskam: Roughly here
you will see 25 to 30

kilos, so retail price
between 2 and 3 million

Euros.

Narrator: With the
exception of America,

where marijuana
seed is illegal,

Roskam is free to market
his products around the

world.

In most countries it's
legal to buy seeds but not

to cultivate them.

So Arjan brands his
seeds as souvenirs.

Arjan Roskam: You see the
different colors we have

here.

We have the Cheese, we
have the Train Wreck,

we have White Rhino and
a Great White Shark.

I came with this idea
2 years ago and it's

probably the biggest hit
ever in seed business.

Narrator: Each packet of
10 mixed seeds retails for

around $75, and his
company sells 400,000

packets of seeds annually.

But the seed business is
only one aspect of Arjan's

empire, the other is a
chain of 'Coffeeshops.'

Customers come not
only to drink lattes,

but to sample
exotic marijuana.

Employee: The
taste is more rich.

Narrator: Holland is the
only country in the world

where marijuana can be
purchased legally for

recreational use, but with
certain restrictions.

Arjan Roskam: The rules
and regulations are as

follows: No transactions
bigger than 5 grams a

person a day is allowed in
any coffeeshop in Holland.

No hard drugs in
the shop is allowed.

Of course that's logic.

No younger people under
the age of 18 are allowed

in the coffeeshop
at any time.

Employee: You
all have ID's?

Narrator: Failure to
comply means a shop will

be closed down.

More than a million
tourists a year travel to

Amsterdam to smoke
marijuana in the city's

234 coffeeshops.

The Dutch authorities
believe they can keep

marijuana from becoming a
gateway to harder drugs by

decriminalizing it
and controlling its

distribution.

Arjan Roskam: The young
people can go into a

coffeeshop and
buy cannabis,

and not like on the street
where they're buying a

left hand cannabis, and in
the right hand heroin and

cocaine.

Employee: Filters and
papers right there.

Customer: Thank you.

Narrator: The Dutch policy
seems to be working.

Holland has around 85%
fewer hard drug overdoses

than the United States and
the lowest rate in Europe.

But when it comes to
supplying marijuana,

Arjan Roskam operates
in a grey area.

Although Dutch authorities
tolerate the sale of small

amounts, production and
large scale distribution

remains illegal.

Arjan Roskam: Having 4
coffeeshops and making

sure we have a steady
supply every day,

is a very very big target.

Narrator: To obtain enough
marijuana for his 3,000

daily customers, Arjan
must turn to commercial

black market producers.

He supplies them with
seeds that they in turn

use to grow marijuana
for his coffeeshops.

Arjan Roskam: We work
with 80 to 100 growers.

It's a cat and mouse game
between the police and the

growers.

Narrator: Once the
marijuana is purchased

from the illicit
suppliers,

it must be cut and
prepared in a safe house,

because coffeeshop
regulations allow only 500

grams on the premises
at any given time.

From the safe house the
marijuana is delivered to

the coffeeshop
every few hours.

Arjan has turned his
greenhouse business into a

global brand.

He sells everything from
instructional DVDs,

to T-shirts and hats
over the internet.

Arjan Roskam: This very
popular in Canada and

America.

This is also very funny
these are coasters.

Narrator: And like
many celebrities,

he even has his very own do l .

Arjan Roskam: The
famous bobble head.

At home everybody laughs
about it but in America

it's pretty popular.

Narrator: "The King Of
Cannabis" is enjoying his

success.

Arjan Roskam: I think I am
the most happy person in

the world.

I have the best
job in the world.

I made from my hobby,
I made my work.

I grow the most beautiful
plant in the world.

I meet all kinds
of celebrities,

I get invited all
over the world.

I'm the most happy
guy in the world.

Narrator: Arjan Roskam's
seeds and growing

techniques have
revolutionized the

marijuana trade.

Growers are now moving
indoors to produce

stronger varieties, and
make bigger profits.

Kingston, Jamaica.

On the outskirts
of the city,

a man going by
the alias 'Paul',

is a small time cultivator
who grows high grade

marijuana.

Paul: Most of these
strains are from Holland.

The way the rest of the
country grows weed it's

not, it's not
the same as this.

It's connoisseur level.

Narrator: Paul's high
potency marijuana is known

as Sinsemilla, or
Sensi for short.

Paul: Sensi's
just seedless,

growing your harvest and
not letting it pollinate.

Whenever you breed the
weed and it gets seeds,

it loses it potency,
and also its flavor.

Narrator: To produce
marijuana without seeds,

growers remove the male
plants before flowering.

This prevents the female
plants from being

pollinated and
producing seeds.

Sensi has higher
levels of THC,

the main psychoactive
compound.

Paul: It's potent.

You're up to 18, 20%
THC, very strong.

Narrator: Most Jamaican
marijuana is grown outdoors.

But in order to produce
the high potency varieties

that many of today's
smokers demand,

growers like Paul are
joining the indoor growing

revolution.

Paul: Welcome
to my babies.

Narrator: For the
past 12 years,

Paul has maintained his
secret indoor garden.

Paul: All right.

Narrator: Here, every
aspect of growing is

controlled, right down
to the acidity, or PH,

level of the soil.

Paul: If, if you're just
pouring pipe water on a

plant, the PH is too high,
the plant won't get a

chance to pick the food up
out of the soil and it's

under fertilized.

I grow because
I love to smoke.

And if you want the best
you have to grow for

yourself.

I'm the only one I see in
Jamaica that's doing this.

These strains are called
Golden Back Gorillas.

It's very potent.

This is a lot money.

It sells for
$500 US an ounce.

Narrator: Marijuana
farmers around the world

are moving indoors to
avoid detection by law

enforcement.

And growing higher potency
varieties means more

money.

Paul: You're gonna get a
lot of customers with good

strong weed.

Narrator: In Jamaica,
marijuana is part of

everyday life.

Up to 70 percent of the
island's population smokes it.

Ras Malekot: Please Jah
bless us all and sanctify

us as we partake
of the holy herb,

for the healing of the
nation and for the

meditation of man.

Narrator: When smoked,
marijuana produces a wide

variety of effects,
including everything from

lethargy or an altered
perception of time,

to increased
appetite, paranoia,

forgetfulness or euphoria.

Ras Malekot: It
lift your thoughts,

it lift your mind, it
makes you more tranquil,

will make you
more meditative.

It gives you more
insight into yourself,

into reality.

Narrator: In the
early 20th century,

recreational marijuana use
spreads from Jamaica and

the West Indies
to America.

Popular among Mexican
migrant workers and

African American
jazz musicians,

marijuana becomes a target
for white xenophobia.

In the 1930s Federal
Bureau of Narcotics chief

Harry Anslinger launches
America's war on drugs.

He creates panic by
claiming that marijuana

leads to insanity,
rape, and murder.

Despite objections from
the American Medical

Association, Anslinger
persuades Congress to

outlaw the drug in 1937.

During the '60s, marijuana
is embraced by the growing

counterculture.

For many, smoking pot is
an act of defiance against

mainstream America.

To the establishment,
marijuana symbolizes the

excesses of
the hippie era.

Ronald Reagan: Marijuana
is probably the most

dangerous drug
in America today.

Narrator: Since the 1970s
the war on drugs has cost

more than two trillion
taxpayer dollars,

but it hasn't
eliminated marijuana.

In fact, marijuana is so
widespread that 41 percent

of Americans admit
to trying it,

including even
the President.

Narrator: Since marijuana
was outlawed in the 1930s,

stopping its use has
been the main focus of

America's War on Drugs.

While medical marijuana
patients can legally

consume it in 14 US states,
more than 800,000

people are arrested for
illegal marijuana use

every year.

Cleveland, Tennessee.

Drug Task Force Director
Mike Hall and his team

prepare to execute a
search warrant on the

house of a suspected
marijuana dealer.

Mike Hall: Well if they
come out of this house and

we come in, especially if
they look like one of our

two suspects, I would
try to, try to get 'em.

Say a word prayer.

The Lord we thank
for this day,

I pray that you
keep each man,

woman in this room safe,
that you give us quick

reflexes.

Give us the judgments
to do what's right.

Let us fulfill that
justice that you've called

us to fulfill in
Christ's name.

Amen.

Alright, let's load up.

Narrator: Marijuana is big
business and dealers will

stop at nothing.

The cops aren't
taking any chances.

Mike Hall: The one suspect
has displayed firearms to

our confidential informant
and the propensity for

violence in this
neighborhood is a little

bit higher than most.

Narrator: Tensions are
running high as the van

pulls up to the
suspect's house.

Cop: Go go go go.

Right, get over
there, get over there!

Get over there!

Narrator: Within seconds,
the police take control of

the house.

Out back, two more
suspects are apprehended.

Agents search the suspects
as the children are taken

outside.

Cop: Where's you
mommy, sweetie?

Little girl: Inside.

Cop: Inside.

She'll be out in
a minute, okay?

You been smoking
bud out here?

Suspect: No, just, I'm
waiting on a burger.

Narrator: Mike Hall
questions the main

suspect.

Mike Hall: Right, is there
any guns in the house?

Suspect: No Sir.

Mike Hall: Marijuana
was found on you,

on your person, is
this for personal use?

Is there any other
marijuana inside the

residence?

Suspect: My personal.

Mike Hall: And
where's that at?

Narrator: The suspect
directs the agents to his

stash box.

Inside they find half an
ounce of marijuana divided

into 4 bags.

The suspect is
likely dealing.

Mike Hall: You got them
individually wrapped up,

you gonna sell them?

Suspect: No, not those.

Mike Hall: Not those?

Suspect: Not those.

Cop: We've been looking
at you longer than a few

days, I know what's
going on here.

We have purchased
marijuana from here,

namely you.

Narrator: Under
Tennessee state law,

distributing marijuana
weighing under 10 lbs is a

felony and punishable by
up to 6 years in prison.

Marijuana may pass though
5 or 6 hands before it

gets to a dealer
like this one.

Mike Hall: He ain't the
bottom of the food chain,

but he ain't top.

This is his
accounting paper.

These are sometimes
what people owe him,

this is how much cash
he's got in hand.

Narrator: The marijuana supply
chain often works on credit.

Mike Hall: He owes his
supplier right now 360

bucks.

Unfortunately the typical
cycle is he'll try to find

some other dope somewhere
so he can make enough to

pay off, suppliers,
you know,

they're like repo
men, you know,

they wanna get
their $360 back so,

they'll get it one way or
another, take your car,

take your TV, you
know, take your blood.

Narrator: The marijuana
seized by the Drug Task

Force in Tennessee most
likely originated from

Mexico, which supplies
nearly 40 percent of the

marijuana consumed
in America.

El Paso, Texas.

Located across the Rio
Grande from the Mexican

town of Juarez, this city
is a high drug trafficking

area.

Every year, more than 100
tons of marijuana are

seized at the El
Paso Ports of Entry.

William Molaski is the
Customs and Border

Protection Port
Director in El Paso.

As a Senior
Customs Officer,

Molaski has been
monitoring this port of

entry for two years.

William Molaski: If you
can think of a way to

smuggle something into the
country, we've seen it.

Yeah, you see false
compartments in gas tanks,

in the spare tires,
in the trunk,

in the roofs of cars,
strapped to the legs of

people.

Inside of shoes, baggage.

The list is endless.

Narrator: Molaski and his
team are the frontline of

America's war on drugs.

Agents from Customs and
Border Protection are on

high alert as they search
cars and trucks for drugs.

They suspect this vehicle
is hiding illicit cargo.

Agent Thorne: We started
inspecting the vehicle and

we saw some anomalies
with the tank,

so then we had it brought
in for further inspection.

Narrator: The agents use a
fiber optic telescope to

get a better look
inside the gas tank.

Agent Thorne: We believe
there is contraband,

either marijuana
or cocaine.

Narrator: The Customs
Agents see something in

the tank, and decide
to take a closer look.

Inside are dozens of
packages of compressed

marijuana, vacuum-packed
to prevent them from

absorbing gasoline.

The 68 pound seizure is worth
$200 a pound in El Paso.

By the time it reaches
cities like New York,

its value multiplies
ten-fold.

This secret DEA warehouse
stores the marijuana

seized on the US/
Mexican border.

Agent Todd Scott: This
warehouse on any given

week is filled with,
you know, 12, 15,000

pounds or more of marijuana.

Narrator: Every year more
than one million pounds of

marijuana passes through
here before it's

destroyed.

The cross-border marijuana
trade is dominated by the

Mexican drug cartels.

Agent Todd Scott:
Marijuana's important to

the cartels because it
really is the life blood,

the economic life blood
for how these cartels

operate.

Narrator: 60 percent
of their revenue,

or around $8.6 billion,
comes from trafficking

marijuana.

Agent Todd Scott:
Marijuana is,

it's almost like
printing press for them.

It's really the engine
that drives all of their

other, narcotic
trafficking activities.

Narrator: The endless
demand for marijuana fuels

the bloodshed on
Mexico's streets.

Two of Mexico's
biggest drug gangs,

the Sinaloa and
the Juarez cartels,

are fighting a war over El
Paso's strategic location.

Eduardo Martinez: These
organizations see

themselves as industries,
they are in it for profit,

and they're willing to
kill and they're willing

to do whatever they have
to do to make sure that

their business continues
to receive profits.

Narrator: The war over
lucrative smuggling routes

has turned Juarez, Mexico
into the murder capital of

the world.

Eduardo Martinez: They are
fighting over their turf.

And whoever at the end is
left standing will be able

to profit from this area.

Narrator: The worldwide
marijuana market is

estimated to be worth $142
billion annually and the

Mexican drug cartels are
fighting for their share.

In California, the Mexican
cartels' profits are being

eroded by the 'mom and
pop' operators who supply

the booming, legal-medical
marijuana business.

People from all over
America are flocking to

California to be part
of the so called "Green

Rush."

Northern California.

Here, a group of medical
marijuana smokers are so

fanatical about their
use of the plant,

they've formed
their own church.

The Reverend Steve Cherms
runs the United Cannabis

Ministry.

Reverend Cherms: It's a
non denominational church

so we don't try to focus
people's certain beliefs,

but we do believe that
the cannabis plant,

is a tree of life, and is
our God given right to use

the tree of life.

Lift up your tongue.

Narrator: Every Sunday,
Cherms and his followers

begin the day with a
mixture of liqueur and

marijuana.

Reverend Cherms: Would you
like your tincture young lady?

Narrator: The Reverend
Steve Cherms has been

smoking marijuana
for 39 years.

Today, he uses it to
relieve pain from ruptured

disks in his
back and neck.

Reverend Cherms: I just
can't focus with the pain

so, a little bit of
hashish, you know one,

two marijuana
cigarettes and,

ready to go for the day.

Narrator: To become
a part of the church

congregation, members must
share Cherms' passion for

marijuana.

Woman: Thank you.

Reverend Cherms: And
my favorite thing,

next victim.

Now I will be able to just
kind of slow down and talk

to you guys without being
like in a haze, you know.

Narrator: Reverend Cherms
makes sure his followers

hold legal California
Medical cannabis cards.

Reverend Cherms: Then
they can, you know,

consume cannabis legally,
even though we should be

able to use the tree of
life legally anyway it's

God's law but, you know,
we'll follow the rules in

California.

Narrator: In October, the
Church's legal marijuana

crop is ready for harvest.

Reverend Cherms: We grow
for everybody that's in

the church that cannot
grow for themselves or

have no spot to do it.

Narrator: Church members
believe freedom of

religion, no
matter how strange,

is protected by the first
Amendment of the US

Constitution.

Reverend Cherms: In the
Constitution we have the

right to use whatever
religious sacrament we

want.

And this is our
religious sacrament.

Narrator: Seasonal workers
pour into California to

help with the harvest.

They're known as
'clippers' and they get

paid in pot.

Reverend Cherms: It kind
of averages between half

ounce, to an ounce
a day, you know,

and they each come
one or two days.

I think they usually
go home with an ounce,

and it's enough sacrament
for their week or two

weeks that they need.

Narrator: The Reverend
and his followers were

recently evicted
from their church,

because the landlord
didn't agree with their

religious beliefs.

So now Cherms holds an
informal service in his

home, while the clippers
manicure the harvested

buds.

Reverend Cherms: Would
anyone else like to try

some?

Narrator: Before
Church begins,

Cherms and his
congregation take more

sacrament.

Reverend Cherms: We're all
guardians of cannabis;

we all have to have it.

And there's no
kings, no queens,

no emperors of this, we're
all the same and the plant

needs us to be the
guardian of it.

What do they say
healing of the nations.

The healing of
the nations.

Anybody else like to
try some hash a little?

Narrator: Eventually,
the service begins.

Rather than preaching
from the pulpit,

Cherms prefers a more
relaxed approach to

religion.

Reverend Cherms: Sunday
sermon for the United

Cannabis Ministry.

Narrator: In the comfort
of his armchair,

he delivers his sermon
from a laptop.

Reverend Cherms:
Genesis 1-29.

And God said behold I've
given you every herb

bearing seed which is upon
the face of all of Earth.

Does this seem like the
herb that we have in our

hands.

Is it possible this could
be the herb they're

talking about?

Member: Definitely.

Narrator: Cherms champions

the virtues of cannabis
over other commonly abused

substances.

Reverend Cherms:
Tobacco kills 340,000

to 450,000 people a year.

150 plus thousand people
a year die from alcohol

related.

And that, that's not
accidents, car accidents,

that's alcohol
consumption killing

150,000 people a year.

Let's talk about illicit
overdose and drug use;

3800 to 5200
deaths a year,

and my favorite
cannabis zero,

zero deaths every year.

Never been recorded one
death from the use of

cannabis.

Narrator: Marijuana is now
California's biggest cash

crop, outselling corn,
vegetables, even grapes.

Narrator: While hundreds
of thousands of people in

California are now legally
growing and consuming

medical marijuana, there's
still a thriving illegal

industry, dominated by
the Mexican drug cartels.

Across California, illegal
marijuana farms are

springing up
in state parks.

Lake County,
Northern California.

10 AM.

Agent Ryan Pontecorvo,

an Eradication Team
Commander from the

Campaign Against Marijuana
Planting, or CAMP,

is searching for an
illegal marijuana farm

known as a 'grow.'

Agent Pontecorvo: They
thin out the brush just

enough that the plants
get the sunlight.

But the color is so
fluorescent against the

natural foliage,
it just pops,

so it's hard to hide.

Narrator: During the
summer growing season,

he and his team
work 12 hours a day,

6 days a week.

Soon Agent Pontecorvo
spots some crops.

Agent Pontecorvo: You
got, you got one, two,

three plots.

Narrator: To the
untrained eye,

it's nearly
impossible to see,

but Pontecorvo has spent
the last 5 years busting

marijuana growers.

Armed and ready, CAMP
agents hike through the

brush toward the
illegal marijuana farm.

Agent Pontecorvo: When we
do sneak ins that's when

the potential for
violence is there.

Most of all the growers,
they're always armed.

Narrator: These farmers
heard the agents coming

and have already fled.

But the agents remain on
high alert while they

remove the illegal plants.

Agent Pontecorvo:
Right now since,

well I call it the race.

Once you see it, you got
to pull it because it's

all money.

They made it this far,
they want it out.

So the likelihood
of potential armed

confrontation
would be now.

Because basically we're
taking money from them.

They bring in their food.

Narrator: Agents discover
the farmers' abandoned

camp.

Agent Pontecorvo: They've
just had a food drop,

this bag is full of
food that just.

Narrator: Many grow
farmers are illegal

immigrants.

Agent Pontecorvo: The
people who are smuggled

into the United States,
part of their payment back

to the smugglers is to be
inserted into different

areas of California to set up
Marijuana commercial grows.

Narrator: The operations
are financed by

Mexican drug lords but
the kingpins are rarely

caught.

Agent Pontecorvo: A grow
like this probably cost

them, with all the food
and getting the guys in

here I don't know,
maybe $10,000

investment to get it going.

Chemicals and everything and
that might be in the high end.

Depending on what the
plant count is here,

they could make a profit
of a million or a couple,

you know, and they sell it
wholesale at the low end.

So for a small investment
they're getting a big

return.

Narrator: The marijuana
plantations have a

devastating impact on the
surrounding environment.

Agent Pontecorvo:
They cut trees,

they cut the underbrush,
they clear it out.

They'll bring poisons
in to kill the animals,

deer will it, 'cause deer
love eating the plants.

This is all your, your
typical landscape,

water pipe, you have your
feeder tubes off a main

line.

What they'll do is
they'll run this,

I've seen it run for
miles, to a stream,

where they'll dam up the
stream and divert it.

A lot of times they'll put
chemicals in the water.

So they're
poisoning the water,

they're taking
public land,

running people off who should
be enjoying it for recreation.

Narrator: Ryan and
his team remove more

than 3,000 plants, with an
estimated street value of

6 million dollars.

For them, the war on
drugs is never ending.

Agent Pontecorvo:
It is a game.

They, they try to hide
it and we try to find,

and once we find
we take it, so it,

it's a never
ending battle.

Narrator: Whether it's an
evil weed, a cash crop,

a lifesaving medicine,
or simply a recreational

drug, marijuana polarizes
public opinion.

And thanks to advances in
horticultural science,

it can now be grown
anywhere on the planet and

is used by more people
than ever before.

70 years of prohibition
have failed to stamp out

marijuana production, and
it continues to line the

pockets of the world's
most ruthless criminals.