American Drug War: The Last White Hope

This movie, and its message, are long over due. Booth does an excellent job exposing the hypocrisy and corruption in our nations drug policies. As well as the ruining effect they have on our society, an effect that can be far more damaging than the drugs themselves.

Alcohol prohibition was a complete failure in the 20s. It increased the use of alcohol while decreasing the age at which people used it. It created an extremely lucrative market for gangsters and a subsequent wave of violence. Drug prohibition, which has been in effect since 1937, is no different. Hundreds of thousands have died in gang violence or run ins with the police. Our prisions are so packed we can't build new ones fast enough. Isn't seventy years of failure long enough for someone to ADMIT prohibition doesn't work? It took thirteen years for alcohol!

And if you can't learn from history, few do, look at Holland. A place where drugs are decriminalized and actually provided by the government in some cases. Drug use is....DOWN, especially among the youth. Drug related crime is almost nonexistent and the rate of addiction is nearly stable. Isn't it amazing how much more you accomplish with understanding and education instead of oppression and punishment.

Director Kevin Booth does make some effort to show both sides of America's "War on Drugs". For example, Booth depicts the devasting effect on drugs like crystal meth, crack and PCP on the lives of addicts. He also includes interviews with anti-drug "warriors" like former Clinton drug czar Barry McCafferty. But Booth clearly recognizes the "War On Drugs" as a failed campaign that will never be won. He emphasizes the racists aspects of the drug war as well as it underlying sinister motives of both profit and social control for those in power.

A significant portion of the doc is devoted to explaining the role of the Reagan administration in the importation of cocaine into the USA in the 1980's to covertly fund the Contra's war against the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. It also decribes how Los Angeles drug dealer, Freeway Ricky Ross, became a contact for a Contra drug exporter and how this led him to becoming a major player in the subsequent crack epidemic.

Booth also includes interviews with drug decriminalization advocates such as Tommy Chong and Jello Biafra. The doc makes a very compelling against the excessive incarceration of non-violent drug offenders. However, I do wish Booth had focused a little more time on showing the benefits of treatment over imprisonment for addicts.

But still Booth does cover a lot of ground and comes down on the right side of this important issue. I would especially encourage those unsure of their opinion on the drug war to watch this doc as they will likely learn a great deal of new information. Recommended.

I'm a high school teacher in a low income school district in Southern California and the very Orange County Judge that was featured in the movie is the coordinator of "Peer Court" at the school I teach. Great movie, extremely poignant, a must see for all Americans.

Just like the first spot of light coming through the window after being sick with the flu, this documentary shines as bright on that sore spot on our nation's butt: that pimple remnant known as the Iran/Contra gang, clearly alive and well, and going full force while managing the drug war for profit in America. This doc is a full fledged beam of sunshine on truth. Bravo.

If there is any logical criticism for this documentary, it won't be for lack of effort or research, lack of relevant individuals interviewed, or narrowness of scope. It'll be because it's quite long, and the amount of information included is daunting, to say the least.

The range of views from individuals interviewed is unabashedly wide; they range from a jail warden and a former drug czar, to a former drug kingpin and Tommy Chong. The interviews account for much of the program's length.

The information herein is thoroughly indicting of the U.S.' present situation, to say the least, and can ideally aid in a large mentality change as the baby boomers move to old age and their children enter politics.