Whether or not you're cool with conservatives or aligned with liberals, the scent of marijuana is hard to ignore. A handful of states have already legalized the drug for medical purposes and the popular 'weed' continues to grow into a household name. Magazines, movies and the media have helped elevate the controversial drug to cult status among its users, admirers and detractors. And now, its very own screen play is coming to Washington, D.C.
The Marijuana-Logues will run July 30 and 31 at the Harmon Center for Arts on F Street near the Verizon Center. The Off-Broadway comedy has already received glowing reviews from Entertainment Weekly, Newsday and the New York Press after a successful one-year run from 2004 to 2005.
A mixture of comedy and harsh reality, The Marijuana-Logues, written by longtime comedians Doug Benson, Arj Barker and Tony Camin, touches on both the dangers and the dependency of the drug as well as the recreational and relaxation associated with it.
"It's really a different environment [but] a fun environment," says comedian and co-star of the show Robert Cantrell. "We try to be a little bit high brow as well as a little bit low brow with the subject and actually bring the fun out of it. And definitely state the facts and what's going on right now in the [marijuana] movement in legalization and everything like that."
The 90-minute stage show has played in comedy clubs, theatre spaces and festivals throughout the country but arrives in the District for the first time at an idealistic transition. Last May, the D.C. Council's 13-member board approved medical marijuana in a unanimous decision. After Congress declined to overrule the bill on Monday, approval in the District now makes medical marijuana legal in roughly 30 percent of the U.S.
Despite a rise in legalization, citizens remain divided on the subject. The drug has been associated with criminalization for so long that predetermined beliefs will be tough to sway. However, the acceptance of entertainment outlets such as The Marijuana-Logues proves that society is slowly coming to grips with reality; albeit at a decelerated rate.
"It's such a 50-50 in our society right now; it's definitely healthy and [harmful]," Cantrell says about the drug's controversy. "I think it's just a generational thing. It goes a lot deeper than that, it's about control. I look at it as kind of a prohibition-type of era and now things are going towards legalization so it makes the subject that much more relevant to talk about it and get it out in the open and examine the issue from all different angles."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Afro
Author: Stephen D. Riley
Copyright: 2010 Afro
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
The Marijuana-Logues will run July 30 and 31 at the Harmon Center for Arts on F Street near the Verizon Center. The Off-Broadway comedy has already received glowing reviews from Entertainment Weekly, Newsday and the New York Press after a successful one-year run from 2004 to 2005.
A mixture of comedy and harsh reality, The Marijuana-Logues, written by longtime comedians Doug Benson, Arj Barker and Tony Camin, touches on both the dangers and the dependency of the drug as well as the recreational and relaxation associated with it.
"It's really a different environment [but] a fun environment," says comedian and co-star of the show Robert Cantrell. "We try to be a little bit high brow as well as a little bit low brow with the subject and actually bring the fun out of it. And definitely state the facts and what's going on right now in the [marijuana] movement in legalization and everything like that."
The 90-minute stage show has played in comedy clubs, theatre spaces and festivals throughout the country but arrives in the District for the first time at an idealistic transition. Last May, the D.C. Council's 13-member board approved medical marijuana in a unanimous decision. After Congress declined to overrule the bill on Monday, approval in the District now makes medical marijuana legal in roughly 30 percent of the U.S.
Despite a rise in legalization, citizens remain divided on the subject. The drug has been associated with criminalization for so long that predetermined beliefs will be tough to sway. However, the acceptance of entertainment outlets such as The Marijuana-Logues proves that society is slowly coming to grips with reality; albeit at a decelerated rate.
"It's such a 50-50 in our society right now; it's definitely healthy and [harmful]," Cantrell says about the drug's controversy. "I think it's just a generational thing. It goes a lot deeper than that, it's about control. I look at it as kind of a prohibition-type of era and now things are going towards legalization so it makes the subject that much more relevant to talk about it and get it out in the open and examine the issue from all different angles."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Afro
Author: Stephen D. Riley
Copyright: 2010 Afro
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
