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American Drug War: The Last White Hope

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American Drug War: The Last White Hope
The subject of America's love for mind-altering substances (legal and illegal) is broad and deep enough to provide material for a dozen documentaries, but Kevin Booth does an excellent job of putting together a coherent two-hour film that takes on several aspects of the drug war. I got this movie two weeks ago in the mail and since then have been trying to make every friend and family member watch it.
That there are over a million non-violent people in jail and prison in this country because of the drug war is beyond absurd. But here we are. And there they are. And only a few politicians dare to question the rationality of criminalizing the very human impulse to feel good. Why? Among other reasons: The money that the prison-industrial complex and the alcohol, tobacco and pharmaceutical industries lavish on politicians ... and the cut of the action that Wall Street and the gov't takes from the illegal drug trade.
Go to YouTube to watch the trailer.
Then buy the movie.

Understanding the "drug war" is all about understanding profit. Alchohol and tobacco cause problems that folks profit from - drug companies, hospitals, etc. Marijuana on the other hand, which anyone can grow in their backyard, has been shown to be effective in treating a wide range of illnesses that drug companies would like to charge thousands of dollars to treat. The decriminalization of drugs like pot would cut the profits of large industries by huge amounts. Those industries exert enormous political pressure, hence the drug war.

Don't ever think for an instant the Government has your well-being at heart. It cares only about money, and the drug companies line its pockets, both directly and with tax revenue. That's why there's a drug war. It's a war on competition.

The Booth bros. provide you with information that you believed might be true but until now you never knew how it was possible. This doc is very well made, you can tell this doc was created without bias and shown through the eyes of your every day American citizen. What is shown on the DVD is very disturbing and raises awareness in to the agendas of what our American Government is doing at the citizens expense.

I first saw this movie on showtime, because it sounded interesting but it was more then I bargained for. Very informative and powerful from the people interviewed for the doc to the people higher up who we trust to do the right thing but are just interested in their own agendas. It shows how people are affected by their own governments decisions. I really can't explain how this doc makes someone feel after they watch it but I will quote my girlfriend after she watched it

"This makes me very sad"

I must disclose that I came into this movie at the very end when the brilliant producer realized I could provide a few bits that would bring it all together. I volunteered my time because I felt then--and I feel now--that this film was totally righteous. So I am listed as one of the "actors" but unlike some of them for whom file clips were used, I was taped speaking about this specific situation for this specific movie.

Our government is BROKEN. The civil servants and uniformed personnel are good people trapped in a bad system--a cesspool. Standing above them, hoarding the wealth, the power, and the personal privilege, are "elected" officials and their appointed cronies that have no business at all governing this great nation. They are inept and should be dismissed. We need a Constitutional Convention, an end to the Elctoral College, and deep Electoral, Financial, and National Security Reforms.

See also:
Vice: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency
The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track (Institutions of American Democracy)
The Bush Tragedy

I have tagged this DVD with the word treason, because that is what CIA, DEA, the FBI, and the White House are guilty of when they protect drug wholesalers and allow entire neighborhoods to go down the crack drain, not because of Ricky Ross, but because of high crimes and misdemeanors all the way up the chain above him.

In my world, accountability is supposed to start and be enforced from the top down, not the bottom up. I hold John Deutch and later George Tenet accountable for failing to manage all five of the CIAs (the Wall Street CIA, the White House CIA, the front CIA, the paramilitary CIA, and the sodomy Safari Club CIA). I can only imagine the counterparts in DEA and the FBI and other elements of the government with the power to commit treason and get away with it while making a personal profit from the power We the People have assigned to them.

Director Kevin Booth does make some effort to show both sides of America's "War on Drugs". For example, Booth depicts the devasting effect of 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 also correctly recognizes the "War On Drugs" as a failed campaign that will never be won. He emphasizes the racist 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 case 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.

American Drug War really shook me up. I think it changed the way I feel about living and breathing in this country and inspired me to act on things that I've always just thought about. It made me very sad in a way, but very enlightened and empowered too. Everyone needs to see this movie. It's affecting all of our lives and no one is talking about it.

It's people like the Booth brothers that can inspire us to become grassroots activists to help people that cannot help themselves. Our government is a big, mean dog and I thank them for being brave enough to stand up to it, and to do it in a way that deserves respect and attention.

I encourage anyone and everyone to purchase this movie.

I just got this DVD and it's amazing! I had seen the film at a festival last year so I knew what to expect, but the new version was much more polished and the bonus features alone make this disc one for the collection. Hats off to Kevin Booth; great film, great production value, great way to get the message out and the discussion started!

Whether you are a advocate of legalizing marijuana or not, this is a fascinating documentary that brings to life the reality of government corruption and what the war on drugs is really about.

Some of the information I was already aware of but wow does this movie tie everything together and put things into a different perspective. Prohibition doesn't work, we should've learned from our history with alcohol, which by the way kills more every year and ruins more lives than all the other drugs put togther.

"Vices are those acts by which a man harms himself or his property. Crimes are those acts by which one man harms the person and/or property of another. Vices are simply the errors which a man makes in his search after his own happiness. Unlike crimes, they imply no malice toward others, and no interference with their persons or property.... Unless this clear distinction between vices and crimes be made and recognized by the laws, there can be on earth no such thing as individual right, liberty, or property...."

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.