American Drug War: The Last White Hope

American Drug War

DVD cover
Directed by Kevin Booth
Produced by Sacred Cow
Narrated by Kevin Booth
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 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
Country United States
Language English

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

Synopsis

The film states the War on Drugs has become one of the longest[1] and most costly[2] wars in American history. Inspired by the death of four family members and close friend Bill Hicks from "legal drugs," Texas filmmaker Kevin Booth sets out to prove his claim that the Drug War has failed.[3] 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. The film analyzes imprisoned drug trafficker Ricky Ross, described by a Los Angeles Times reporter as the "Wal-Mart of crack dealing."[4] After being arrested, Ross discovered through the work of journalist Gary Webb that his cocaine source had been working for the CIA.[5]

Awards

Television

Hollywood attention

References

  1. ^ Bandow, Doug (December 20, 2004). "The Longest-Running War". The Future of Freedom Foundation.
  2. ^ Wallace-Wells, Ben (December 13, 2007). "How America Lost the War on Drugs". Rolling Stone.
  3. ^ "What's Wrong With the Drug War?". Drug Policy Alliance.
  4. ^ Chalmers, Robert (October 9, 2005). "Susan Bell: a shameful secret history". The Independent.
  5. ^ Gary Webb (1999). Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion (2nd Ed.). Seven Stories Press.
  6. ^ Market Wire (November 2007). 4th Annual Artivist Film Festival and Artivist Awards Announce the Winning Films of this Year's Festival. Press release.
  7. ^ (2007). 2007 Silver Lake Film Festival Awards. Press release.
  8. ^ EvilCityFilmFest.com
  9. ^ Showtime.com
  10. ^ Crime & Investigation Network
  11. ^ Esai Morales Blasts the Phony "War on ____" on YouTube
  12. ^ O'Reilly Promotes American Drug War?! on YouTube

External links