CBC Documentaries

CannaBiz (2010x2)

Air date: Jan 28, 2010

CannaBiz unfolds in Grand Forks, BC, an eccentric border town nestled in the secluded Kootenay Mountains, where draft dodgers and hippies planted the first "BC Bud" in the 1960s. Marijuana growers here, and in other towns across Canada, are now at a dangerous crossroads between crime and commerce, battling for a share of profits from an industry worth a staggering $20 billion dollars. The one-time code of the marijuana industry - No guns. No coke. - has changed. Brian Taylor, Grand Forks' "marijuana mayor" and Sam Mellace, an ex con and grower, petition for legalized medical marijuana as an answer to the fallout from the escalating violence, while law enforcement officers like RCMP constable Harland Venema continue to fight an increasingly futile war against drugs. With inside access to growers, gangsters and police, CannaBiz untangles the inner workings of the exploding marijuana business and raises serious questions about Canada's drug laws.