Transcription of “Meet Annie Rouse – Writer/Producer/Narrator
Annie: Hi. My name is Annie Rouse. I am a Kentucky native, environmentalist, U.S. Fulbright Scholar, entrepreneur, hemp advocate, world traveler, master in international environmental policy and business administration, economist, adventurer, producer and now, an investigative journalist.
Notice I didn’t describe myself as a historian. I never liked history, until I discovered my passion for unraveling the convoluted mystery of cannabis regulation. Now I didn’t get to this point without help along the way. It was my father that inspired my inquisitiveness, a family that pushed my creative boundaries. It was a college paper that changed my life, a graduate school that opened doors, a job that introduced me to podcasts, a music festival that convinced me it was time, and friends and colleagues who have listened to my rants and connected me with others. So thank you to those who have helped along the way, this would not have been done without you. And thank you to the interested listeners who are curious of this expose. I think you will find it worthwhile.
For the past 10 years every bit of my leisure reading has been devoted to unearthing the cannabis conspiracy, which I quickly found was far deeper than books like the Emperor Wears No Clothes. It is rather entirely mixed up with all narcotic regulation, alongside some not-so-timely policies that not only destroyed cannabis, but our natural world. So to truly understand the cannabis conspiracy, I had to understand much more than just hemp and marijuana.
You will find that while the story’s focus is on the cannabis conspiracy, we discuss a variety of topics, like economics, politics, agriculture, oil, pharmaceuticals, Chemurgy and narcotics, in particular opium and its derivatives.
When I initially wrote the story, I wrote it for a screenplay, then it became so large I thought a television series for HBO or a Netflix Original would be better suited. I even wrote a full pilot episode and a first season, then pitched it to a Hollywood producer and Bill Murray. They both were enticed by the story. But I soon found that it would take another 10 years before it would be made. And given the current cannabis regulatory landscape, an opioid epidemic plaguing America and a new drug czar as Attorney General, I decided I there’s no way I could wait another ten years. I needed to tell the story now.
And so it begins. This is Anslinger: The untold cannabis conspiracy.
Episode 1 premieres February 5th on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Think Hempy Thoughts
Enjoy this teaser while you wait 😉
