JAYFORCE

Smokers are gonna get high on the greenery scenery to start in the video above, but stick around and take in the economic reality that drives grandmas and other good people into this business. It stinks (and not in the good way). People are just making a living the only way they can, by farming the only tax-exempt produce in Swaziland. That ‘tax exempt’ part is a huge loophole favoring growers in the sub-Saharan monarchy’s economy. Everything else is taxed to hell in a land where 2/3 of the population lives below the poverty line. So Swazi weed is not just a means of escape from the day’s humdrum or from the ails of the AIDS epidemic gripping the populace; but probably the only way to any level of prosperity for the citizenry.

Swaziland is a landlocked country sandwiched between South Africa and Mozambique. Despite Swaziland’s small size, it boasts more hectares of land dedicated to growing Cannabis than all of India. It is also home to Swazi Gold, the legendary sativa strain.

Hamilton Morris travels to Swaziland hoping to chemically analyze the cannabinoids present in some of the local strains. Instead, he finds a country steeped in political corruption and economic turmoil. Cannabis is viewed by many growers, users, and politicians as a drug that will cause insanity, but it may be Swaziland’s only hope for economic stability.

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