Godfathers of Ganja: Square Grouper is a 2011 documentary by director Billy Corben (Cocaine Cowboys), about Miami's colourful pot smuggling culture in the ‘70s and ’80s.
In 1979, the US Customs Service reported that 87% of all marijuana seizures in the US were made in the South Florida area. Due to the region's 5,000 miles of coast and coastal waterways and close proximity to the Caribbean and Latin America, South Florida was a pot smuggler's paradise. In sharp contrast to the brazenly violent cocaine cowboys of the 1980's, Miami's marijuana smugglers were cooler, calmer, and for the most part, nonviolent.
Square Grouper paints a vivid portrait of Miami's pot smuggling culture in the 1970's and 1980's through three of the city's most colorful stories.
Reviews
“A hilarious, tragic tale of Florida ganja” -Salon.com
“With unique angles on a broader issue that has never been quite black-and-white, Billy Corben’s low-key Cocaine Cowboys is a satisfying group(er) of well-told stories.” News in Film
“So much pot is consumed… that you could get a contact high just watching it.” -New York Post
“Square Grouper’s admirably backhanded inquiry into the social and economic costs of weed criminalization extends far beyond the wake-and-bake crowd.” Village Voice