Lens & Learn Documentary Screening: Higher Power

You asked, we listened! The community has expressed a strong interest in more documentary screenings, and we’re excited to deliver.

Introducing Lens & Learn! Every other month, we’ll showcase a thought-provoking documentary and provide resources for deeper exploration.

For our inaugural screening, in honor of Cannabis Awareness Month, we present Higher Power, directed by Dewey Ortiz and Rafi Aliya Crockett.

Recreational cannabis use is legal in Washington, D.C.—but recreational cannabis sales are not. Higher Power follows Black Washingtonians navigating this legal gray area as they strive to build their futures in the cannabis industry. Through their stories, the film explores the broader fight against the criminalization of communities, the push for reparations from the war on drugs, and the ongoing battle for D.C. statehood.

From Black medical cannabis business owners overcoming systemic barriers to traditional cannabis entrepreneurs shut out of the legal market, Higher Power sheds light on the people shaping—and being shaped by—cannabis legalization. The film also examines the impact of Initiative 71, the 2014 ballot measure that legalized cannabis for adult use in D.C., and the federal interference that followed, preventing the city from regulating cannabis sales.

Join us for this compelling documentary about the intersections of policy, business, and justice in Washington, D.C.

Many documentaries are unrated and may not be suitable for teens. No registration needed, join us in the Meeting Room.

The next screening will be Tuesday, June 17.