After immersing myself in the Cannabis Industry 4 years ago, I have come to understand the positives and negatives of the legalization of Marijuana. I’ve also come upon a host of characters such as dispensary owners, headshop owners, nurses, scientists, growers, marketers, to investors, lawyers and lawmakers. All of which bring their own brand of passion, concern and crazy to this exploding industry.
Enter Disjointed a new show on Netflix (currently running the first 10 episodes) starring Kathy Bates as Ruth Whitefeather Feldman who owns a wellness center which she runs with her mixed race son Travis (I believe that was politically correct) interacting with a host of other characters.
When I first saw the ads for Disjointed, I must admit I was skeptical, but knew it was only a matter of time before we saw an actual “sitcom” about weed. There have been other shows about weed, but this one is breaking new ground. Chuck Lorre, who brought us the great and powerful Big Bang Theory, as well as Dharma & Greg, and Two and a Half Men, once again taps into the heart and soul of who these people are and nails the cast of characters that I’ve been interacting with, with a sense of humor and unbias. From Ruth, the long standing advocate, who has finally seen her life’s work come to fruition but fiercly wants to protect the beliefs she’s fought so hard for, to her son Travis who is trying to bring Ruth’s business into the tech age with an “on-line” presence, something I am painfully aware of in my own business . And the rest of the cast– Carter, the security guard with PTSD, Jenny the “tokin” Asian who dropped out of medical school to work in the growhouse, Pete the grower who is excellent at what he does and sort of reminds me of James Franco playing Saul in Pineapple Express, a beautiful soul, riding on a puff of “high,” Maria who is an anxiety ridden mother looking for help and finally Olivia, who seems "normal" but waiting to see how her character develops – will she be the pot version of “Penny” – only time will tell. I know these people, I’ve met these people – they are real. The dialog and inner monologues are spot on as is the experience of how different strains work on different people. One scene that resonated with me was when Travis enters Ruth’s office after she is seen taking a hit from her vape and he needs to talk he says something like – are you just break high or high high because I need to have a conversation. I am guessing most of you would be familiar with this scenario – can we have a talk right now because your mind is open and creative or are you just f..ed up?
The scenes showing what PTSD might be like and the compassion these characters show towards Carter once they realize his struggle, is really poignant.
The shows format of Strain of the Day, the day dream animation, life in the “Wellness Center” and the cast of characters who frequent the center, keeps the episodes moving. The two characters you want to hate, Dank and Dabby are exactly the stereotype the industry has been fighting against, however they have over 100K follwers on Youtube, making them valuable and hard to dismiss. These are the people and issues that are now plaguing the marijuana industry. Mr. Lorre has brought them to the forefront informing us of what legalization means on so many levels, but to his credit, not only with a sense of humor but with empathy. As I’m only 5 episodes in, I give it 2 thumbs up if you want to understand the trickle down effect and meet all of the players. This is a great first stab at what I’m sure will be the first of many shows dealing with our current concerns about the pot industry. I applaud Chuck Lorre’s effort of giving real insight to all perspectives concerning legalization – I’m going to finish the 10 episodes and come back with another review – but don’t take my word for it – go ahead give it a shot!
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