FILM OFFERS TOUR THROUGH CALIFORNIA DRUG CULTURE

Should marijuana use be legalized in this country?

Adam Ross spent several years working on a documentary, "Cash Crop,"
that explores the world of marijuana growers and users in California,
but he hopes his movie leaves the answer to that contentious question
posed above to those who see the film.

"Cash Crop" has gained new topicality with California voters facing a
proposition next week that would decriminalize marijuana -- perfect
timing for the Connecticut premiere in New Haven on Friday.

"I'm obviously sympathetic," Ross said of the way both growers and
users are depicted in "Cash Crop."

"But I'd rather not do a Michael Moore kind of film," he added in a
phone interview from his California home last week.

"I believe in letting people decide for themselves," Ross noted of
seeing his movie as a means by which the subject can be discussed in
an informed manner.

"Cash Crop" has the structure of a classic road movie as Ross and his
crew travel north through gorgeous California scenery, showing us the
wide variety of people who have made marijuana a big part of their
lives -- as a business and as a form of recreation.

We get to see the sick people who use pot for medicinal purposes --
legally -- and meet a sheriff who has come to believe that a lot of
time and money is being wasted on marijuana arrests that could be
used for more serious criminal behavior.

Ross recognizes the almost comical divide in our culture between the
"approved" drugs that are sold on television nonstop -- with those
terrifying warnings about possible side effects -- and the unapproved
drugs that put lots of people in prison.

"I guess one of the big questions is: Who decides what's medicine?.
Look at the culture of (prescription drug) abuse. All of those
prescriptions for Zoloft," the filmmaker noted.

"Cash Crop" has no narrator, no title cards filled with statistics.

The film works aesthetically as a cinematic experience, separate from
the issues it raises.

We visit so many different places and meet so many different people
that you could view Ross' film simply as an above-average
contemporary California travelogue.

"I wanted there to be lots of breathing spaces between the different
points of view in the film," Ross said.

"I didn't want the movie ever to feel like a lecture. ... I hope it's
a different kind of documentary," he added of his quest for both
"truth and beauty" in the context of nonfiction filmmaking.

The Bow Tie Criterion Cinemas is at 86 Temple St., New Haven. Opens
Friday. $11. 203-498-2500. www.bowtiecinemas.com