Reason.tv: Buy American Pot!

A very special message from the American Marijuana Growers Association, dedicated to keeping pot illegal and profits high!

November 19, 2009

We all know that a lot of people are harmed by prohibition, but who benefits? Strangely enough, some of the biggest beneficiaries are the bootleggers. Sure, they take a big risk, but black marketeers don't have to pay taxes, they're protected from foreign competition, and they benefit from artificially inflated prices. Talk about protectionism.

What kind of message would an honest American Marijuana Growers Association have for us? "Thank you for your support of marijuana prohibition and buy American pot!"

"Buy American Pot" PSA was produced by Paul Feine, Alex Manning, and Hawk Jensen.

The farmer is played by Alexandra Fulton, who also has a pages on Facebook and IMDB.

For downloadable versions and embed codes, go to Reason.tv.

Visit Reason.tv's YouTube channel here.

Comments

Brian Sorgatz|11.19.09 @ 10:49AM|#

Intoxicating -- and so is the marijuana.

Adam|11.19.09 @ 11:02AM|#

And this isn't listed on her IMDB page yet?

|11.19.09 @ 11:14AM|#

Re-legalizing marijuana would make it substantially less profitable for
not only growers and sellers, but also for lots of politicians and
members of law enforcement.

The notorious gangster Al Capone had hundreds of politicians and police
officials on his payroll during the 1920s because of Alcohol Prohibition.

Shouldn’t we assume that the drug cartels of today are following
Capone’s business model?

|11.19.09 @ 11:46AM|#

No shut up! MARIJUANA KILLS BABIES, YOU COMMIE!

Art-P.O.G.|11.19.09 @ 11:19AM|#

Nice video and Fulton is gorgeous.

Can we please get a video with Tommy Wiseau, please? He'd be a great celebrity libertarian.

Cakes|11.19.09 @ 1:56PM|#

O hai reform!

BakedPenguin|11.19.09 @ 11:23AM|#

Was this a reason.tv production? If so, I'm glad I chipped in for the begathon.

The funny thing is, someday American pot farmers might actually be asking Congress for tariff protection against foreign imports.

jester|11.19.09 @ 11:26AM|#

And Willie and Neil's Farm Aid concerts might finally start to make sense.

|11.19.09 @ 6:16PM|#

I doubt it. America and the other developed nations have the capital and resources to make the dankest of the dank. Developing nations might be able to grow fruit just fine, but their weed would be total schwag.

I'm also gonna assume that most of the developed nations will domestically consume their own dank, and so there really wont be much of an international market for weed anymore.

IceTrey|11.19.09 @ 11:40AM|#

The real reason marijuana is illegal is to protect various industries, oil and timber mainly, from competing with hemp.

|11.19.09 @ 11:48AM|#

No it's not! Where ever would you get that idea...

Oh wait, yeah, 1930s Congressional Committee. Making up excuses to ban marijuana, going against the AMA, deriding Hispanic people.

|11.19.09 @ 6:17PM|#

Excuses do not reasons make.

Oz|11.19.09 @ 11:47AM|#

Only dirty vagabonds don't buy american pot. I mean why even smoke shwag....rolling the joint last longer than the high? It's completely counterproductive.

Oz|11.19.09 @ 11:48AM|#

See, I'm so high that I have no idea how to use a question mark.

Zeb|11.19.09 @ 12:52PM|#

Don't forget Canada. Lots of good stuff from there.

EMp|11.19.09 @ 2:05PM|#

I'll have some British-Columbian with my Columbian java this morning, please!

¢|11.19.09 @ 12:18PM|#

There were no "Hispanic people" in 1930.

You'd know that if you did better drugs.

Warty|11.19.09 @ 12:49PM|#

Good job, but those shorts could have been shortier.

|11.19.09 @ 4:20PM|#

word.

|11.19.09 @ 1:02PM|#

We Slashdotted her!

"Howdy!

My website is temporarily down. Please check back to www.AlexandraFulton.com in a few days. Until then please join me!

xoxo,
Alexandra"

|11.19.09 @ 1:04PM|#

So, did they film this in Nick's or Matt's basement?

|11.19.09 @ 1:12PM|#

American's are the best farmers on the planet. Leave them alone and they'll kick the worlds ass on any ag product that can be grown in our climates.

They are also tooo damned good to be begging for subsidies.

I expect high quality hash will always be an import (labor costs).

kinnath|11.19.09 @ 2:04PM|#

I was discussing legalization with my father and system this summer. I said that I had complete faith that Iowa farmers could grow so much high quality pot that the price would crash and that they would need federal subsidies like tobacco farmers to turn a profit.

Maybe the road to legalization is to get pot covered by the tobacco settlement ;-)

|11.19.09 @ 2:17PM|#

It would be WAY cheaper, though not necessarily higher quality. Who would pay triple the price for 20% more potency?

But, yeah, a couple of hundred acres could churn out enough pot to keep a smallish state supplied.

|11.19.09 @ 2:14PM|#

Some climates are better suited to growing pot than others. What's propping up much of the potency is the illegality -- if you're growing indoors when it's illegal, the emphasis is on potency, not on production costs.

Legal outdoor growing would emphasize a far less labor-intensive, cheaper product that wasn't as potent, but maximizes the buzz per buck.

If it ever gets legalized, though, expect a lot of the fallow former sugar cane land here in Hawaii to be converted into pot fields.

kinnath|11.19.09 @ 2:19PM|#

The state of Iowa is actively promoting alternates to soybeans and corn to diversify the economy.

Someone will figure out how to grow some varity of pot that thrives in rich black soil under sweltering July and August conditions here in Iowa.

IceTrey|11.19.09 @ 3:25PM|#

One problem with that. If marijuana was legalized that means hemp would also be legal. I doubt very many marijuana growers would grow outdoors because the hemp pollen would ruin their crop.

|11.19.09 @ 6:20PM|#

Obviously we need laws to keep those dirty hemp farmers from growing males. Ya know, so it can drive hemp fibre prices up.

Win/Win?

skr|11.19.09 @ 7:56PM|#

It would probably be grown in giant tunnel greenhouses like most of the floral production is grown.

Medic001|11.24.09 @ 3:54PM|#

You wouldn't grow you Cannibis anywhere near the Hemp.

|11.19.09 @ 1:27PM|#

Sort of reminds me of that old Saturday Night Live faux commercial.

Look for the union label
When you are buying
A joint, lid, or pound

kinnath|11.19.09 @ 1:59PM|#

Dimwit here! How was this piece of fine journalism filmed legally?

|11.19.09 @ 2:09PM|#

I'm surprised the producers of this haven't gotten into legal trouble for this.

Or was this filmed in California or some other state where the voters have bucked the feds?

kinnath|11.19.09 @ 2:16PM|#

Producers? It's Ms. Fulton who is clearly in possession of a federally controlled substance.

|11.19.09 @ 2:19PM|#

Is the "pot" in her hand actually pot? Could it be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, absent some chemical tests to prove what it is she is actually holding?

kinnath|11.19.09 @ 2:21PM|#

It doesn't have to get to trial for the Feds to ruin this young lady's life.

A.G. Pym|11.19.09 @ 3:04PM|#

I remember a long-ago article in "Rolling Stone" (Hey, I was in college and hadn't really developed my critical faculties, OK?) in which a columnist, thinking that the great liberating legalization was "just around the corner" decided to trademark some of the different "trade names" of different sorts of pot - i.e., "Maui Wowie," "Thai Stick," etc.

He found that all the popular names had already been trademarked by large tobacco and liquor companies. IIRR, on further investigation, they were all ready to have packaged product on the shelves within weeks, if not days, of actual legalization.

I'm pretty sure nothing will have changed since then.

Crass, verile male|11.19.09 @ 3:31PM|#

What do I masturbate to? I'm so torn.

|11.19.09 @ 6:22PM|#

Just be glad they didn't have her do a food network skit. Then you'd have Food Porn to contend with too.

Paul|11.19.09 @ 3:47PM|#

some of the biggest beneficiaries are the bootleggers. Sure, they take a big risk, but black marketeers don't have to pay taxes,

They would if we eliminated the income tax and instituted a nat'l sales tax...

|11.19.09 @ 6:23PM|#

I can't tell if i should laugh my ass of at that one. I really want to.

SunflowerPipes|11.20.09 @ 1:40AM|#

The US authorities have better things to do than to go after glass pipes and water pipes. Up to 60% of the Mexican drug trade is pot imagine the effect if that amount of money was suddenly taken from the drug cartels. If we want an America that we can be proud of we are going to have to help create one that makes sense.
Sunflowerpipes.com

|11.20.09 @ 1:46AM|#

The US could save $50,000 per imprisoned drug dealer/user per year and save the cost of capturing and convicting those offenders. Then the US would have more resources to capture, convict, and imprison thieves, rapists, murders and child molesters.

Medic001|11.20.09 @ 1:27PM|#

Grow your Own!

|11.22.09 @ 5:33AM|#

Dear Americans,
buy patriotic, HOMEgrown first.
Sjra

abercrombie milano|5.27.10 @ 5:14AM|#

My only point is that if you take the Bible straight, as I'm sure many of Reasons readers do, you will see a lot of the Old Testament stuff as absolutely insane.