Weed (1972)

Director: Alex de Renzy

Starring: dope peddlers and the men who catch them.

More info: IMDb

Plot: In response to President Nixon's Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse, adult filmmaker Alex de Renzy weighs in with Weed, his take on "The Great American Grass Problem" in which he interviews customs agents and drug dealers, travels to Vietnam ("Just ask for Number One cigarettes!"), Cambodia (in search of "Cambodian Red"), and Nepal (where shops offer tourists "Best Quality Hashish at Cheapest Rate"), and finds marijuana growing wild in Missouri. "It's not that we don't trust this distinguished group of men, but there's a lot more to this grass story. So, as a public service, we thought we'd check out some of the numerous rumours about Killer Weed!"

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Once was fine.

WEED is a no nonsense documentary that examines a lot of areas around buying, selling, using pot and the people who catch them. It's nearly 40 years old so you're probably not going to learn anything new. What is interesting, though, is the film makers travel to wartime Vietnam (as well as Cambodia and Nepal) and seeing the street scenes with vendors, American soldiers, etc. It's much like getting into a time machine. Those were the parts I liked best and are the reason I can recommend tracking this down. It's really the only thing that's worth a spit on this disc. Netflix has it.

Priceless. Other than this neat little documentary, you can waste the next two hours with the Something Weird Video double feature DVD that also has a 60 minute snoozefest of an acid flick called, THE ACID EATERS (1968), a couple of school drug scare films and a handful of drug-related trailers, most of which aren't going to do anything for you except reach for a doobie and stare at the walls until you pass out. Lucky you.