Weed Country

TV review by Melissa Camacho, Common Sense Media
Weed Country Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 15+

Drug series focuses on conflict between growers and police.

Discovery Channel Reality TV 2013
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age 12+

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this TV show.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Weed Country is all about marijuana. The show follows people in the medical marijuana trade living along the California-Oregon border and the law-enforcement officials trying to close them down. Adults are shown handling marijuana plants and smoking pot. Guns and rifles are visible, raids are discussed, and language can get pretty salty.

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What's the Story?

WEED COUNTRY is a reality documentary that follows people working in the California medical marijuana trade and the law-enforcement teams committed to taking them down. Set in the area of Northern California and Oregon known as the "The Emerald Triangle," it features cannabis growers such as Mike and Tawni Boutin and Nate Morris, who are developing and growing plants to be cultivated and sold for medical use. Many of them sell to distributors such as Matt Shotwell, who are legally licensed to sell marijuana under California law to people with a medical need. But making a living from the medical marijuana trade isn't easy, especially when law enforcement, headed by people such as Sheriff Jon E. Lopy and Lt. Matt Thompson, shuts down dispensaries and eradicates cannabis plants, as the federal government classifies the trade as illegal.

Is It Any Good?

Weed Country underscores the tension between the medical marijuana industry, which is legal in California, and the federal laws that dictate the growing, selling, and use of marijuana is illegal. Growers and dealers discuss the various uses for cannabis, including treatment for nausea, pain, and seizures. Meanwhile, law enforcement, who link the trade to the overall drug trade in America, show some of the tactics they use to stop distribution.

Despite the strong moral arguments regarding marijuana's medical use, Weed Country clearly shows how the industry is profit-driven. It also highlights how endless suspicion and violence have become part of the culture, due to farmers' fears of being raided and arrested. Viewers who strongly support legalizing marijuana may find their beliefs reinforced, but those who don't probably will come away with mixed feelings.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about why people get involved in illegal businesses. Are the people growing and dealing marijuana here primarily motivated by the medicinal aspect? Or are they mainly in it for profit?

  • Do you think this show accurately portrays what working in the cannabis trade in the United States is really like? Are there any consequences of growing, selling, and smoking marijuana that aren't discussed here?

TV Details

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