Educational Media Reviews Online

Powerful and thought provoking, this documentary film opens a dialogue of international proportion. The director, German Gutierrez, takes a hard look at the marihuana, hashish and cocaine policies of several nations to give an overarching worldview of drugs. Filmed on location in New York, Amsterdam, Colombia and Canada, the viewer is exposed to the legal, financial, economic, moral, political and personal ways drugs dominate our world societies.

In Colombia, the camera follows several different realities of drug trafficking. Some of the lives we see are: of a judicial prosecutor who must remain anonymous to stay alive; of a drug raid in an apartment using automatic rifles; of villagers who cultivate and gather the coca leaves in the hills and then process it as cocaine; and, of a woman who tells of the tragedy that cocaine has brought to her small town. There are several scenes that cut in and out of an interview with a drug user, who then becomes a drug pusher, and then becomes an "collector" in Colombia. It is amazing to see and hear his testimony of what his involvement in the drug world has lead him to do with his life. He is completely credible as he relates his experiences.

In Canada, Marie-Andree Bertrand, a member of the government's famous Le Dain Commission (that recommended the decriminalization of marihuana in the early 1970s) and a past-professor of Criminology at the University of Montreal (now retired) is interviewed. She states that drug laws do more harm than good. She believes that the Canadian federal government should remove cannabis from the Narcotic Control Act, and the sale and use of cannabis placed under government control. The federal and/or provincial governments should conduct all stages of the production, marketing, sale and use. Similar to tobacco and alcohol, this government-distributed cannabis should be marketed at a quality and price that would make the 'black market' sale of the drug an impractical enterprise.

Also Canadian, Pierre Cloutier, a lawyer and the secretary of the Ligue Anti-prohibitioniste du Quebec, speaks to the decriminalization of marihuana. Both alcohol and tobacco are considered harmful drugs, but their consumption is legal. Whereas other drugs that are not harmful to one's health, such as marihuana, are illegal. It is the inconsistency. It is the right of the individual to choose to use marihuana, and not the Government's right to prohibit it.

The Canadian judicial courts are prosecuting individuals, and jails are housing petty criminals. They are not bringing down big drug rings. In Canada, 60% of inmates and 70% of urban crime is directly related to narcotics. The Canadians interviewed feel that the "drug war" is a war that began in the United States, and is being promoted by the American government, and is totally inappropriate for Canada.

Michel Chossudovsky, Professor of Economics, University of Ottawa, author of "The Globalisation of Poverty, Impacts of IMF and World Bank Reforms," relates how internationally drugs are a 100 billion dollar industry; with gambling, prostitution and exchange bureaus. This laundered money is then invested in the financial, real estate, telecommunications, and industry sectors worldwide. As the second biggest economy on earth, what would happen to the world's economic order if drugs were legalized?

In Amsterdam, Holland, there is de facto legalization of marijuana use. There is no other society that approaches the Dutch standard of tolerance of drug use and freedom of choice for the individual. One Amsterdam interviewee at The Green House cafe states that you can order cannabis right off a menu! The possession, growing, and exchange of small quantities marihuana is legal and has been for many years.

There is some straight talk from politician Daniel Cohn Bendit, a member of the European Parliament. He posits the liberal view of drugs and drug policies for Europe. He is a strong proponent of legalizing 'soft' drugs, treating them as recreational similar to alcohol.

The most compelling person interviewed is retired Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent, Michael Levine. As a 25-year veteran federal agent, he has gone on to author books that expose the U.S. government's war on drugs as a lie. He describes how United States tax dollars fund the flow of drugs into America and the role the CIA plays in these crimes. He worked with cocaine traffickers in both the United States and South America. In his book, "The Big White Lie," he describes some major drug operations in which one U.S. government agency (the DEA) was trying to ensnare drug dealers while another (the CIA) was using the same people as sources! With his first-hand knowledge of deep drug trafficking operations all over the globe, his revelations are the most insightful.

In America, the so-called 'War on Drugs' continues, and the drug industry invades the whole culture. So as the world seems to get smaller, the impact is not localized but global. The interconnectedness of the problem leaves one wanting to know how to proceed. Does the solution to the ubiquity of drugs need a world policy? Or, should national policies be set? Or, is it really an individual's right to choose to use the so-called soft drugs or not? A dialogue is in order. This program will start all manners of inquiry and conversation.

The juxtaposition between the cultures and societies, and the action of the selected persons' dialogues and interviews in this excellently edited film are highly engaging. The subject content is for high school and up. With original music, it is a first-rate film and highly recommended