American Drug War: The Last White Hope
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| American Drug War | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Kevin Booth |
| Produced by | Sacred Cow |
| Starring | Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Jello Biafra, Chico Brown, Celerino Castillo III, Tommy Chong, Sergeant Lou Daigle, Dr. Gary Fisher, Judge James P. Gray, Dr. Charles Grob, Dr. Claudia Jensen, Gary E. Johnson, Dennis Kucinich, General Barry McCaffrey, Todd McCormick, Cynthia McKinney, Ron Paul, Joe Pietri, Tom Rhodes, Joe Rogan, Freeway Ricky Ross, Michael Ruppert, Robert Steele, and others. |
| Distributed by | Passion River |
| Release date(s) | 2007 / 2008 |
| Running time | 118 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Official website | |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
American Drug War: The Last White Hope is a 2007 documentary by writer/director Kevin Booth about the War on Drugs in the United States.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
35 years after Nixon started the war on drugs, there are over one million non-violent drug offenders living behind bars. [1]
The War on Drugs has become the longest [2] and one of the most costly [3] wars in American history. Inspired by the death of four family members from "legal drugs," Texas filmmaker Kevin Booth sets out to discover why the Drug War has failed. [4] Three and a half years in the making, the film follows gang members, former DEA agents, CIA officers, narcotics officers, judges, politicians, prisoners and celebrities. There is also extensive treatment of CIA and Contras cocaine trafficking in the US. Most notably the film befriends Freeway Ricky Ross, described by a Los Angeles Times reporter as the "Wal-Mart of crack dealing."[5]After being arrested, Ross discovered through the work of journalist Gary Webb that his cocaine source had been working for the CIA . [6]
[edit] Awards
- 2007 Artivist Film Festival, Best Feature, Intl. Human Rights [7]
- 2007 Silver Lake Film Festival, Best Documentary [8]
- 2007 DIY Film Fest, Best Documentary
- 2006 Evil City, Best Documentary [9]
[edit] Television
- Picked up by Showtime in March of 2008 to be aired for the next two years. [10]
- Shown on Australia's Foxtel Crime & Investigation Network. [11]
[edit] Hollywood attention
- On an April 2008 episode of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, actor Esai Morales brought up the documentary and told everyone at home to see it for themselves.[12] Morales' comments became the focus of a "Pinheads and Patriots" segment on Bill O'Reilly's Fox News Channel television program.[13]
[edit] References
- ^ CJCJ.org (2002) America's One-Million Nonviolent Prisoners. Press release.
- ^ Bandow, Doug (December 20, 2004). "The Longest-Running War". The Future of Freedom Foundation.
- ^ Wallace-Wells, Ben (December 13, 2007). "How America Lost the War on Drugs". Rolling Stone.
- ^ "What's Wrong With the Drug War?". Drug Policy Alliance.
- ^ Chalmers, Robert (October 9, 2005). "Susan Bell: a shameful secret history". The Independent.
- ^ Gary Webb (1999). Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion (2nd Ed.). Seven Stories Press.
- ^ Market Wire (November 2007). 4th Annual Artivist Film Festival and Artivist Awards Announce the Winning Films of this Year's Festival. Press release.
- ^ (2007). 2007 Silver Lake Film Festival Awards. Press release.
- ^ EvilCityFilmFest.com
- ^ Showtime.com
- ^ Crime & Investigation Network
- ^ Esai Morales Blasts the Phony "War on ____" at YouTube
- ^ O'Reilly Promotes American Drug War?! at YouTube
