Silver Header Ad
reserve your ad hereAn international documentary of social impact shot in 4 countries: Colombia, Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom, is based on the question:
What do women have to do with marijuana?
Why in these countries? Because the policies in relation to marijuana are evolving and changing right now, the current social debate makes it a topic of great importance. Especially when female politicians lead the political debate. Women of high power with backgrounds of migration and/or oppression are currently taking this debate to the next level, such as Francia Marquez, the new Vice-president of Colombia who is sharing her political opinion with us right before the election, or Aminata Touré the youngest black German deputy of Schleswig-Holstein. GREEN MEDICINE is also starring and representing the producer of the Spannabis, Celia Maestre; cannabis-lawyer Erika Santana; singer-songwriter Isabel “La Muchacha” Ramírez; brand owner of StonyMahony Katharina Diaz; brand owner JustHemp; Grower, Laura; influencer Candela and many more.
This specific correlation between evolving diverse female role models and the changing weed laws is what deserves to be portrayed. This is a historic moment.
The female vision: the intention consists in knowing what positions the different women referents of culture, science, politics, social leaders, musicians, ancestral, environmentalists, L(G)BTIQ+ activists, and feminists have to say when it comes to cannabis. What are their HERstories, experiences, and reasonable doubts about it?
GREEN MEDICINE is a 20 minutes documentary about the correlation between Marihuana and Woman. It is needless to say that for some, this is a natural mix of topics; for others, it’s quite new as a concept. Allow yourself a new perspective. Behind the camera, GREEN MEDICINE was shot by a rule of 80%.
A minimum of 80% of the international film crew is female and queer. Making sure that female and queer filmmakers get encouraged to believe in themselves. So they make up a high majority in every department. This is activism in its purest form. Not to exclude, but for creating desperately needed creative, safe places. Meant to combine worlds… stating that film is a wonderful tool for that. This collective voice is going to take us a long way to understanding not only the actual medicinal benefit, the joy of consuming weed, and the lifestyle around it but also the dubious license system, the current illegal market, and especially the new ways of possibilities versus the loss due to the war against drugs.

From here on, director Luisa Nike invites you to her personal experience of creating, shooting, and delivering this independent Documentary with social impact.
What brought you to this project?
“Oh, it came from within. There was a key moment within the pandemic that really pressured me as a creative to decide. Like, if you just can choose two topics. Decide on two topics that will for sure not get me tired of any time soon, and then just go all-in for as long as it may take! So that was my calling for the year of 2022.”
The answer was clear: Woman and Weed.
They may not sound related to most, not even as a superficial mix or just as a promo. But let the seed sink in for a second and bear in mind that the flower and buds we enjoy so much in this community come from the FEMALE plant. It’s not at all surprising to me, as a consumer or a professional filmmaker, that in return, the benefits of the plant as medicine bring in sacred female energy. If you’re a man reading this, be assured weed will not make your titties grow, nor will it make you a woman. So relax and tune in to what this energy is capable of.
The fight for empowerment and recognition for weed is pretty much the same that females encounter over their lifetime. A fight against restrictions, weird oppressive laws, wrong perceptions, and stigmata. It’s a long road to receiving worthiness. To cultivate healthy pride. To be perceived as a person before you’re a gender. The word feminism itself got labeled as the most unsexy word by now, and I get it because the stigma remains.
Weed gets perceived as a drug way before it gets recognized as a sacred plant or even natural medicine. Man, even just to enjoy it shouldn’t be such a big deal anymore.
When you think about it, this could’ve happened to coffee. Or water. Or men.
Restricting nature like this is just the cancer of the planet. Due to this, we lose respect towards what is important; we lose contact with our bodies; we lose contact with our communities.
Let me tell you, as a director, I worked myself to a limit with this project. Not because it was 100% independent. Not because it was on the topic of weed and women. But because I am a white lesbian female director myself. So I dealt with restrictions in my art, had to fight oppression constantly, and got perceived way off because of the existing stigma in more than one way.“
How do you overcome those limits, and why is the answer poetic?
“Good news is weed is gluing this whole shit show together. Poetry, in this sense, is like a melody in words, short format, but within it is the playground to plant seeds of freedom. I took a poetic approach towards combining the two topics of woman and weed because it is what’s needed. Whenever you want to bring new communities together or want to create something new and bring it to life, give it some seeds of freedom to grow. Here at Skunk Magazine, for instance. Julie Chiariello and her wonderful crew have been planting seeds of freedom in written form for years now. Real creation comes from freedom. Our whole weed community consists of souls overcoming their own limits and becoming allies for cannabis. To be honest, in my whole career, I never experienced better sets, more chill working environments, or more down-to-earth folks like in the weed community. Counting me in as a providing part of this impressive assemblage of love is indeed a pleasure and a huge inspiration for me. I guess the translation of love in any kind of art already has got that poetic notion to it.“

When does GREEN MEDICINE premier?
“The closed screening will take place July 29th, 2023, at the HAMCAN – Hamburgs International Cannabis Conference & Expo. GREEN MEDICINE is going to premier for the industry in the beautiful city of Hamburg, Germany, my actual hometown, that I left over ten years ago. I have been a Barcelona-based director since 2017. The Spanish premier is going to take place in San Sebastian, and the world premiere will hopefully have the honor at the DOK Leipzig, Germany.
Who are your allies?
“After filming for one year straight, I got to say I am speechless at how warm I got received by every single interview partner and collaborator, so all I can say is thank you all! Thank you to the Spannabis for being the safe place of encounters and beyond, Cannaorganic for the absolutely amazing guidance in Colombia, and thank you for existing as the powerful woman, author, mother, and inspiration you are, Mila “The Hashqueen” Jansen. The major collaboration of the local associations of Barcelona, include RDM, who collaborated as a shooting location; Terpy for hosting female events; High-Class, always a pleasure; Freya Peytons, and so many more.”
What is the next step?
“Me and Help The Next! Production S.L. is taking this to another level.
Ladies, Queers & Gents, we want to make a series. HER GREEN MEDICINE – a country and/or city for each chapter, female & queer voices. We love the number 8, so that’s our starting point.
After the first festival selection for our series in progress at the BAM Bogotá Audiovisual Market 2022, we are convinced that representation matters. The current law-changing vibe is just too epic to let this fade out calmly! Let’s just admit that our female companions, marginalized communities, and queers do a lot of activist work, that deserves more recognition. Marginalized communities suffered most in the past, and the current war on drugs; that’s where we want to start our journey—giving back some respect, not only to Jamaica but in general. Questions like will the medicinal industry take over, or are remains of the illegal system includable? Or what does a female prison for weed charges look like, for instance, when they get their acquittal? Is the vice President of Colombia able to legalize marihuana and coca as plants in Colombia? Who is the woman currently running the weed industry? As we have way too many questions as an international female and queer film crew, we leave you with this: We are all fighting for the same freedom, so we all can shine our lights brighter.
In case you wondered who Help The Next is, it’s the 1st female-led full-service film production based in Barcelona. Help The Next declares to be anti-racist, pro-lgtbiq+, and definitely pro-woman! The absurd fact that in a world designed for men doing something in favor of women results in being a revolutionary act makes the crew of Help The Next super proud revolutionary activists concentrating on hiring female, queer, and migrant professionals. This powerhouse produced this documentary.
Thank you to every single person involved in this journey.”
@hergreenmedicine
@elisarodriguezc
@helpthenext.production
Silver Scrolling Footer Ad
reserve your ad hereLuisa Nike is a film director, producer, writer, and activist. Born in Germany, she was raised in Colombia and has been based in Barcelona since 2017.