Pubdate: Fri, 20 Jun 2014
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2014 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Sean FitzGerald

"EVERGREEN": FEAR, LOATHING ON POT TRAIL

Documentary. Not rated. 86 minutes. At Sie Film Center

When Washington and Colorado voted in 2012 to approve statewide 
recreational marijuana use, the news made international headlines and 
prompted fiery debates about state laws at odds with the federal government.

At the crux of both states' legalization campaigns were arguments 
that took a page out of the anti-Prohibition textbooks: heightened 
civil liberties, an alternative to the war on drugs and an 
undercutting of a pot-centric black market. Often overshadowed in the 
national eye, however, were the viewpoints of cannabis advocates who 
opposed the very initiatives that sought to make marijuana legal, 
regulated and taxable.

Riley Morton and Nils Cowan's documentary "Evergreen: The Road to 
Legalization"- which screens June 20 at the Sie Film Center- lends a 
voice to those individuals and gives an engrossing behind-the-scenes 
look at how Washington state went from a politically polarized 
battleground to be one of the first states to pave the way for drug 
reform in the U.S.

"Evergreen" avoids the generic viewpoints of hippie proponents and 
right-leaning detractors that have become caricatures of marijuana 
debates over the years, and delves instead into the intricacies of 
why the New Approach Washington-led Initiative 502 pitted some pot 
supporters against each other.

At the outset of the documentary, more than 300 days before the 2012 
election, the forces behind I-502 promise to curtail simple, 
nonviolent marijuana arrests. What sounds like an appetizing citizen 
initiative is quickly opposed by a swath of former cannabis champions 
who find holes in what they called a poorly written proposal.

"They're spending millions of dollars on a legalization campaign that 
isn't a legalization campaign," says Douglas Hiatt, a public defender 
featured in the film.

Two major differences between Washington's legalization initiative 
and Colorado's were that I-502 wooed conservative voters by putting a 
nanogram cap on medicated or high drivers (similar to a 
blood-alcohol-content restriction on drunk drivers) and by saying no 
to grow houses.

"Evergreen" weaves the 2012 narrative together with an assemblage of 
clips, which range from shots of campaign headquarters and city 
tours, to Seattle's Hempfest and pot dispensaries, to free-speech 
events and DEA bust footage. In conjunction with sharp editing and 
pacing, montages and interviews allow the nearly 90-minute film to 
roll seamlessly.

Major players featured in the film include I-502's campaign director, 
Alison Holcomb, and well known travel writer and sponsor Rick Steves. 
On the flip side are I-502 opponents Hiatt and medical- marijuana 
advocate Steve Sarich. Morton and Cowan, more often than not, do a 
good job of making initiative pushback look professional rather than 
petty by evoking thoughtful responses from principal interviewees on 
both sides.

"Evergreen" builds like a slow, soft crescendo, captivating with its 
sense of faux suspense (we already know how this ends) and ability to 
capture the drama of the issues at hand. Portraying emotion and 
devil's advocacy are this balanced film's strong suits.

The doc's main drawback (a little one, at that) is rooted in the An 
argument between advocates on both sides of the 
marijuana-legalization issue, as seen in "Evergreen: The Road to 
Legalization." redundancy of its subjects' arguments. Although the 
film presents triumph in a fair, respectful way, the tirades against 
driving under the influence and smokescreens can be tiring. Also, the 
picture painted here is not altogether complete, as "Evergreen's" 
timing might feel belated and its conclusions shallow- pot-shop 
battles continue to rage in various forms in Colorado and Washington. 
Arguably the film's most interesting, albeit tangential, interview is 
a drug dealer who offers insight that could have used a touch more light.

But deft post-production work and a solid breakdown of statistics 
stitched throughout prove that "Evergreen" accomplished its goals: to 
show how other states can reform their drug policies (or how not to) 
and how complex Americans' stances on marijuana prohibition have become. 
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom