Educational Media Reviews Online

This documentary is about the "War on Drugs," a billion dollar effort funded by U.S. tax dollars to stop drug production in South American countries like Colombia and Bolivia. Peasant farmers grow coca plants and are paid by drug cartels that in turn convert the coca leaves into cocaine that makes its way to the U.S.

U.S. politicians and lawmakers are trying to stop the U.S. drug problem by targeting the source. Through interviews with poverty-stricken farmers, Colombian rebels and U.S. politicians and lawmakers, viewers will learn that:

• peasant coca plant farmers have difficulty supporting their families with other crops and risk going to jail by growing coca;
• some peasants try to raise animals and to grow “legitimate” crops only to have drug patrol fumigation planes ruin them and sometimes poison adults and children in the process;
• some coca farmers will evade the drug patrols and find places where their crops will not be seen;
• rainforests are sometimes destroyed to make room for new coca plantations
• Colombian guerrillas tax coca growers in areas under their control and fight the government;
• in spite of the large sums of money being spent on this initiative, drugs and their effects, such as addicts and dealers, are a bigger problem than ever in the U.S.

Although it often seems one-sided and completely sympathetic to the peasant farmers, this film should generate interesting discussions among viewers. Due to the complexity of the subject matter and some of the content, it is probably most suitable for high school and college classes. For example, a man is shown using cocaine, and there are some expletives.

The picture and sound quality are good. Subtitles are used instead of audible translation, so viewers must pay close attention to the screen. There were some noticeable typographical errors in the subtitles and credits.