Cannabis is still federally illegal in the U.S making regulation a confusing and inconsistent hurdle for brands. In legal states, state-appointed regulatory bodies make specific rules regarding advertising cannabis. Most media outlets refuse to run advertising for cannabis brands at this time.

With the state-led legalization, millions of American now have access to medicinal cannabis treatments. From pain treatment to anxiety and PTSD, this film highlights the life-changing medicinal benefits of cannabis, paving the way for a new stigma-free discussion around cannabis-centric treatments.

“The New Normal” is a provocative retrospective journey through the history of America’s unjust prohibition of cannabis. The camera seamlessly moves through a connected diorama set composed of frozen scenes of injustice and important cultural turning points. A cast of real people affected by prohibition bring authenticity and emotion to each scene. The film culminates with a message of hope, punctuated by an idyllic vision of the future where cannabis is no longer stigmatized, it’s as normal as buying groceries.

Three out of every four Americans arrested for cannabis are people of color. Therefore, it was important that we cast Black Lives Matter activist and actor Jesse Williams to bring his first-hand perspective on how prohibition has affected these communities.

Jesse, a former history teacher, plays the role of the slave-owning George Washington, a historical paradox that brings into question the one-sided story of American history.

Channeling his past profession he continues to educate the audience making references to injustices like the New York City policing policy known as stop and frisk, where many minorities were stopped and searched by the police without just cause.

The film also references “Reefer Madness,” a government-sponsored anti-cannabis propaganda film from the 1930s infamous for its wildly inaccurate claims and ludicrous scare tactics.

To bring to life the idea of the history of cannabis prohibition, we created a massive museum diorama. Each scene of the diorama told a pivotal story of unjust laws, government propaganda, and counterculture. While the diorama sets were practical, we created digital matte paintings of the diorama backgrounds. The digital backgrounds enabled the production designer to create background scenes that felt hand painted without the labor-intensive time and cost to paint them by hand. The compositing of the backgrounds are so seamless, the audience is reminded of walking through an actual museum diorama experience.