Product description This Authorized DVD copy is intended for educational purposes only.DVD will come in a blank dvd case with written title Over 4 years, 4 festival wins – Sold out screenings from California to Manchester England. Angered by the death of several family members from the "legal Drugs" of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Pharmaceuticals - Texas filmmaker Kevin Booth delves into a world of deceit and corruption controlled by a drug dealing government who's only allegiance is to its corporate masters. Review AMERICAN DRUG WAR FOUR STARS (Highest Rating). A mind-altering experience. This is an exceedingly important documentary. It makes a clear case for why the so-called 'war on drugs' has been -- and will continue to be -- such a colossal failure. We have spent billions upon billions of dollars trying to prevent the influx of substances so many Americans demand to have, and the availability of illicit drugs is at an all-time high.This 'war on drugs' is one of the worst examples of our government's embarrassing close-mindedness and immaturity, not to mention lack of sophistication, bravery, and foresight.The film depicts the hypocrisy of this failed policy: marijuana and cocaine are illegal, yet alcohol and tobacco are perfectly legal, these latter two substances having caused more damage and ruination than any other substances to which our government has given its stamp of approval.And speaking of hypocrisy, the film also chronicles the Iran Contra scandal, our government's sickening, morally debauched effort to actually facilitate the introduction of illegal drugs into society, utilizing the profits to finance a wholly illegal military operation.While Booth quite understandably argues that this 'war' is a ludicrous waste, he is open-minded and intellectually honest enough to show the devastation that drugs (mostly of the legal variety) have wreaked upon close friends and members of his family. So, in the end, he presents a wide-ranging, multi-faceted look at the problem: Yes, drugs destroy lives, but this 'war' has proven to be a meaningless and ill-conceived solution. There's so much to consider here, and Kevin Booth has done an outstanding job of providing the appropriate fodder for contemplation and, hopefully, political action. --Todd David Schwartz Contributing Arts & Entertainment Critic, The Paul Mitchell Show, CBS RadioKevin Booth's film AMERICAN DRUG WAR, an eye-opening and compelling examination of the war on drugs, won the Best Documentary awards at both the DIY and Evil City film festivals, the latter of which featured filmmakers Morgan Spurlock and Mary Harron as judges.Additionally, High Times magazine gave the film four full buds, it's highest rating (no pun intended). Booth, who authored the book BILL HICKS: AGENT OF EVOLUTION about his best friend and notable cult comedian, was inspired by the loss of those close to him to legal substances to try and make sense of what is dubbed the longest, most costly and destructive war in American history. And oh, the things he discovers. Three minutes into the doc we are told the main source of funding for Partnership of a Drug Free America comes from the tobacco and alcohol industries. Booth captures the perspectives from a former LAPD narcotics officer, gang members, prisoners, cops, a sheriff, a former New Mexico governor, civil rights attorneys, Tommy Chong and Ricky Ross from jail and a host of others. --Elston Gunn Aint it Cool NewsFour Pot Leafs Brace yourself for Afghani opium, interviews with a former drug czar and Amsterdam's lone crack connoisseur, and basic bad-guy bedlam in this informative documentary CINEPHELIA - C. Dempsey AMERICAN DRUG WAR is worth some serious frontal lobe absorption. This is a documentary that will show you just how well the war on drugs is going. And let me tell you it really seems to be going great - drug use is up, education is down and all while you the taxpayer keep pouring the money in -- --High Times Magazine - Mary Ought Six P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); About the Actor Tommy was sentenced to 9 months in a privately owned federal prison camp because his son was using his name to sell handmade bongs over the internet. Former Attorney General John Ashcroft's operation pipe dream was thought by many to be reminiscent of a Cheech and Chong movie title About the Director Kevin started out in the music business in the late 80s when his band Year Zero signed with Chrysalis records. Today many people know Kevin from his work with the late great comedian Bill Hicks. Kevin produced most of Bills CD's and filmed the early full-length shows that lead to Bill's HBO specials and Letterman appearances. After Bill's passing Kevin developed his film making in a more political direction and produced several films with conspiracy guru Alex Jones about WACO and 9-11, while still directing comedy DVD's with Fear Factor's Joe Rogan and Comedy Central's Doug Stanhope. In May of 2004, Kevin wrote his first book Agent of Evolution about his life with Bill Hicks, published by Harper Collins U.K. Following Bill's death and the loss of several family members to alcohol, cigarettes and pharmaceuticals, Kevin decided to produce a feature length documentary exploring America's failed Drug War. The discovery that the government classifies Marijuana as being more dangerous than Crack or Crystal Meth was the start of a four year mission to sort the facts from the fiction and pick apart the paradoxes of America's longest running war. This lead to unexpected associations with characters like Bloods founder- T. Rodgers, and Freeway Ricky Ross, the man blamed for starting the Crack epidemic with cocaine supplied by the CIA. AMERICAN DRUG WAR is Kevin's debut as narrator and the start/first of a series of films that will build on his ability to untangle the myths and present serious subjects with a dry wit and eye for the absurd. -- See more
J**R
First Ask Yourself "When Is The Last Time America Won A War?"
War should be the absolute final attempt for a solution to an immoral problem. As such it should be pure in it's intentions. WW II might be the last modern example of anything close to pure intentions provoked by a horrifically immoral action. Good prevailed in this instance too. The war on drugs seemingly has never had pure intentions and the results are not good. It's surprisingly how mis-guided our supposedly best intentions were as they were mixed liberally with corrupt actions. Naturally this huge blotch on our society and government is not a popular thing to profile. That said the filmmaker here goes pretty far in exposing how bad the entire drug war thing is. We all know it has failed, but we don't know nearly enough as to why so we can actually admit failure to the point of a huge re-boot. It doesn't inspire confidence a decade later that we've learned from failure either. This film makes one quite angry regarding the past methods and coruuption. Bottom line: complete and highly questionable failure.
C**U
Revealing look at relationship between government and drugs
American Drug War shows ways the various ways the government has chosen to hold back the legalization of drugs and the consequences of it. It effectively compares countries who have legalized drugs such as the Netherlands to the U.S. Some of the guests in this documentary were quite credible including CIA agents, a Californian judge, and some other former government officials. This made it so much better because anyone can make up a conspiracy theory, and I actually think a decent amount of filmmakers get following conspiracy theories that only have a grain of truth. American Drug War, however, covers several areas relating drug legislation in the U.S. from a more seemingly unbiased and believable standpoint.
P**E
If you are not enraged after watching this, you have no pulse
This movie explains the current fervor to eliminate "illegal" drugs at any cost. Presented in true Documentary fashion, this is a sobering indictment of our criminal "justice" system and the 800 Thousand people, each year, who are "indoctrinated" into it. EIGHTY% for simple possession of drugs.Non Violent offenders.Among the many subjects covered are the link between the Iran Contra's Financial support by the U.S.Government and CIA, and the current drug war and importation and introduction of Million of tons of Cocaine into South Central Los Angeles by way of a co-conspirator in the CIA.It touches on private prisons, violation of inmates rights by using their labor for free, and the ever-widening net of suspicion cast over every American with the introduction and support of the "Patriot Act"-in the name of this "Drug War"The most destructive document in our lifetime. It allows unrestricted surveillance of any American, for any reason.It is crafted thoroughly, thoughtfully and extremely well researched. Including many thought-provoking interviews with, among others, Tommy Chong, General Barry McCafery, Judge James Gray and Joe Rogan,Dr. Robert Melameade and the founder of the "Bloods". A Los Angeles gang.Filmmaker Kevin Booth tells a compelling and, often, chilling tale that MUST be seen to be believed.Inspired by the death of family members and close friends from the effects of "legal" drugs, his in-depth assessment is a revelation in film-making.This information should be on public television on a daily basis.Its importance cannot be emphasized enough.Unlike others, it has NO particular agenda,other than to highlight the insanity of this war on drugs-and the direct cost to all or liberties.It presents unadulterated accounts from former DEA agents regarding our country's hand in the importation of Cocaine to destroy the African American community.Every-single-statement is backed up with indisputable fact.It is rare a film comes along that, at once, educates, informs and infuriates all at once.This movie should be the topic of a Law class
J**E
Very interesting albeit a bit biased.
This is a pretty interesting documentary and is done fairly well for the time frame during which it was researched and created. There are few little details that have now been proved to be wrong. One example, LSD and even marijuana can absolutely exacerbate underlying mental issues like schizophrenia. Altogether, the expose on the CIA pumping drugs into the US is spot on.
F**S
Sad
This documentary did a good job of explaining what the U.S. "drug war" is about ... and it's not what most people think it is about. The drug war in our country is literally the exact opposite of what it's supposed to be and that is by design. Money laundering from illegal drugs through major American financial institutions (though foreign financial institutions are just as culpable) and an ever increasing private prison population for drug offenses have become such a profitable endeavor that if it were shut down it would render our economy far worse off than it is now -- -- so that means a steady stream of illegal drugs must continue (and more notably, be allowed into the country) in order for the cash to keep flowing into our banks and private prisons. The documentarian tries to make the case for decriminalizing drugs (mostly marijuana, but some more hard core ones too) similarly to how the Dutch have done it and even flies over to Holland to speak to a local café shop owner who sells pot at his shop to find out how the city of Amsterdam has done with this experiment since its implementation. He makes a good case!The documentary is a little old (2008), but more than relevant since our collective drug use as a nation has grown since then and continues to. I learned a lot... and was saddened by much of it. The "war on drugs" is an Orwellian term if ever I heard one. Hopefully, the next generation will see who has truly profited from this mess and work to fix it.p.s. Google the term "HSBC fined for drug money laundering" and an investigative article from the Guardian (UK) will come up from December of 2012.
D**M
The truth uncut
Kevin Booth's excellent documentary exposing the sham of "The War on Drugs" . His insight into the real reasons behind failed and corrupt government policies is inspirational. In a world of constant media spin his journalism is a breath of fresh air.Being so truthful I would say Mr Booth Has not many fans in Congress .I look forward to seeing more of his important work . " When You Stand For Nothing You Will Put UP With Anything"
E**L
Four Stars
its good
J**Y
Paranoid nonsense
While I generally agree with the thoughts this film contains... the framing of the narrative is all over the place. The arguments are untidy and deeply confused in their presentation - with occasional drifts into lazy argument and pointless tangents.Many interviewees babble on far too long. Sheriff Arpaio is over-indulged. As are three black guys sitting on a wall in South Central. A snappier, disciplined, more pacey edit would have made this vastly more compelling.All this confusion masks an otherwise worthwhile polemic.
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