Behind the scenes

Seven years on the road with NECTARBALL®

Snapshots from the making of NECTARBALL®: The Story of Cannabis: the places we filmed, the people who shared their stories, and the crew behind the camera. Filmmakers Patty Mooney and Mark Schulze recorded more than 170 interviews for the film.

On location

From Santa Rosa to Amsterdam

Cannabis flowers displayed in glass jars at the Emerald Cup — Cannabis flowers in glass jars at the Emerald Cup, 2018

The NECTARBALL film crew in Amsterdam — The Amsterdam crew

Doede de Jong with the NECTARBALL film crew — Doede de Jong and the crew

Doede de Jong among tall cannabis plants in Amsterdam — Doede de Jong in Amsterdam

Rinus Beintema in Holland — Rinus Beintema, Holland

Mila Jansen, seated in white, being interviewed by the NECTARBALL crew in Amsterdam — Interviewing Mila Jansen in Amsterdam

The people

Legends, scientists and advocates

Cheech Marin in sunglasses at the wheel of a boat out of San Diego — Cheech Marin at the helm, out of San Diego

Patty Mooney and Mark Schulze with Tommy Chong — Tommy Chong with filmmakers Patty Mooney and Mark Schulze

Patty Mooney with Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, the “Father of THC”

Dan Herer holding a U.S. ten-dollar bill with a hemp farm on the back — Dan Herer shows a U.S. ten-dollar bill with a hemp farm on the back

Close-up of a U.S. ten-dollar bill with a hemp farm on the back — The hemp farm on the back of the bill

Patty Mooney with Adam Ill — Patty Mooney and Adam Ill

Adrian Dev with Patty Mooney and Mark Schulze — Adrian Dev with the filmmakers

Craig Robinson with Patty Mooney and Mark Schulze — Craig Robinson with the filmmakers

Mark Schulze with Jason Pinsky — Mark Schulze and Jason Pinsky

What viewers are saying

Read all the testimonials →

San Diego, 2019

The cannabis nurses’ conference

Nurse Heather Sobel, RN, hired us to film the Cannabis Nurses Network Conference (CNNC). Filming and listening to every speaker, we learned so much.

Nurses gathered at the Cannabis Nurses Network Conference in San Diego, 2019 — The Cannabis Nurses Network Conference, San Diego, 2019

Uwe Blesching, PhD, speaking at the Cannabis Nurses Network Conference — Uwe Blesching, PhD, speaks at the conference

Elisabeth Mack, RN, speaking at the Cannabis Nurses Network Conference — Elisabeth Mack, RN, speaks at the conference

Nurse Heather Sobel, RN, and James Schwartz, RN, at the CNNC awards ceremony — Nurse Heather Sobel, RN, and James Schwartz, RN, at the awards ceremony

A packed ballroom of nurses at the cannabis nurses conference, with a camera crew at the back — A full house at CNNC 2019, with our camera at the back of the room

A speaker on the green-lit stage at CNNC 2019 in San Diego — On stage at CNNC 2019

A recording monitor on the camera shows a speaker at the podium during the conference — Rolling on every talk

Conference attendees listening to a speaker at the cannabis nurses conference — Taking it all in

San Diego City Councilwoman Barbara Bry at CNNC 2019, with the stage behind her — San Diego City Councilwoman Barbara Bry, who gave the keynote speech

Authors Michelle Newhart and William Dolphin at CNNC 2019 — Authors Michelle Newhart and William Dolphin

Two women beside a living sculpture of moss, ferns and mushrooms — Beside a living sculpture of moss and mushrooms

Nurse Fame, RN, at CNNC 2019

Ken Sobel, Esquire, with nurses holding Leader of Nursing awards at CNNC 2019 — Ken Sobel, Esquire, with nurses at CNNC 2019

In the field

On the farms

Visiting the growers: from a tray of fresh clones to plants taller than the farmer, and the hands that trim the harvest.

A cameraman films Papa Kush among tall cannabis plants at his farm — Filming Papa Kush among his plants, 2019

Papa Kush smiling in a One Love T-shirt at his farm — Papa Kush at his farm, 2019

A farmer in a red T-shirt stands beside an outdoor cannabis plant towering over him — A plant taller than the farmer

John Bakalian holds up a fresh cannabis cutting over a tray of clones — John Bakalian proudly poses with clones ready to go

Cannabis farmer and pilot Miguel Ridolfi with Mark Schulze beside a small red and yellow plane on an airstrip — Cannabis farmer and pilot Miguel Ridolfi with Mark Schulze in front of his plane

Aerial view of a fenced cannabis garden of potted plants in golden California hills — A garden in the hills, seen from the air

A worker in a mask hand-trims harvested cannabis into a tray — Trimming the harvest by hand

Four people talking in the yard of a cannabis farm — Talking shop in the farmyard

A big white farm dog wanders through the grass beside a flowering cannabis plant as three people look on — The farm dog makes the rounds

Mark Schulze filming cannabis plants outside a hoop house — Mark Schulze filming outside a hoop house

Los Angeles, 2019

Inside the Museum of Weed

A pop-up museum created by Weedmaps in Los Angeles, with exhibits that walk you through the drug war, from the laws of the 1970s to the raids that followed.

A “Flowers are not a crime” display at the Museum of Weed by Weedmaps in Los Angeles — “Flowers are not a crime” at the Museum of Weed

Madeline Donegan, left, beside a giant slatted portrait in the Museum of Weed exhibit on the 1970 drug laws — Madeline Donegan (left) at Exhibit 4: the drug laws of the 1970s

A mirrored room of mannequins in tactical gear depicting a drug-war raid at the Museum of Weed — The Museum of Weed’s mirrored drug-war raid room

Madeline Donegan in front of a bold graphic mural about cannabis history at the Museum of Weed — Madeline Donegan at the Museum of Weed

A room papered with vintage anti-marijuana movie posters, including Reefer Madness and The Devil’s Weed, at the Museum of Weed — The *Reefer Madness* room: vintage scare posters floor to ceiling

Visitors study a suit of red samurai armor and an early American flag, both made of hemp, at the Museum of Weed in Los Angeles — Samurai armor and an early American flag, both made of hemp

A recreated 1990s teenager's bedroom with stoner movie posters, a desktop computer and a guitar at the Museum of Weed — A recreated 1990s bedroom, complete with *Half Baked* and *Dazed and Confused* posters

Oakland

At Oaksterdam University, the cannabis college founded in 2007, we sat down with Executive Chancellor Dale Sky Jones in 2019. We also visited Ed Rosenthal and Jane Klein.