http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=8UtNF-Le2L0

What do you think of this documentary on the global war on drugs? I think it does a pretty decent job illustrating how destructive the war on drugs has been and how significant the unintended consequences have been.

The part of the movie I like the least, for its omission, is any discussion about criminalizing morality of individual behavior. There is also a blanket assumption that of course these things should only be legalized if highly regulated and taxed like crazy which should be up for debate in itself.

I am curious where this Bill Clinton was during the 1990s because, if I recall correctly, his justice department didn't shift priorities away from its ruthless enforcement of federal drug laws. Has he had a change of heart since leaving office or was he just unwilling to risk the political capital while president? Overall though, a well done film with some big names giving credibility to the cause (not that it needs so much on 2+2).

Rhetorical questions are rhetorical? He didn't inhale though so it was ok right?

I think, like every other youtube video that's used to start a thread in politics, I won't be watching it.

Mods, can you please insert this link into the OP: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1951090/

This is not some random home made youtube clip discussion piece. It's a large budget documentary featuring interviews with multiple former presidents and other heads of state. You don't have to watch it, but I get how people perceive random youtube clips and should have done more to make it clear this is a more 'real' movie.

But seriously, rather than freaking out about the mere possibility of watching something, why not either just close the thread or give it a minute to see if you think it looks decent. Some of you really gotta relax..you are so quick to act all hot and bothered in this forum if someone diverts at all from the generally accepted path. Flaming is boring. If you want to check it out, it is well done despite having many points I disagree with and I'd enjoy your opinion on it, if not, move along, nothing to see here.

oic

IN

Dang, OP saved his thread. I just might watch this.

After the game, ldo.

Yeah, gotta agree. Gonna watch it tomorrow at work.

That bogus pass interference call was the game

I didn't know Morgan Freeman was so popular. I'm so out of touch.

No no, I do recognize that. I can easily see him talking about drugs, elections, penguins, whatever. I just didn't know he had strong status appeal among the demographic that frequents 2+2. As someone who is not cool, it can be hard to detect what is if you aren't in touch. With that said, I do kind of like him as a narrator, but if I were to guess before this thread, it would have been that it would be wise to keep that sentiment to myself. Anyway, enough of this..looking forward to what people actually think of the content.

It's more of a credibility thing. If the producers could land Freeman, the doc is probably a least half way decent. The fact that it seems to have gone straight to uToob is a point against, tho.

Just watched it. It's actually pretty good. But asking the US to learn anything from other countries seems like a tall order.

b

When the drug war ends, I want Morgan Freeman to narrate. Here we have it! With a bonus- Bill Clinton! I've been waiting for a movie like this about half my life. Finally some Authority.

Thanks Insidedood, for posting!

Good docu

no words for my american friends....too boring...comics!

another day in office...oops on a senator's plantation

I thought the documentary was a good watch.

One interesting fact that should be noted is during the Taliban rule of Afghanistan herion cultivation went up at first but in 2000 Mullah Mohammed Omar declared herion to be un-Islamic and banned poppy cultivation. As a result of this ban, opium poppy cultivation was "reduced by 91% from the previous year's estimate of 82,172 hectares. President Bush even payed a 43 million dollar reward to the Taliban in 2001"

"On December 7, 2004, Hamid Karzai was formally sworn in as president of a democratic Afghanistan. Two of the following three growing seasons saw record levels of opium poppy cultivation. Corrupt officials may have undermined the government's enforcement efforts. Afghan farmers claimed that "government officials take bribes for turning a blind eye to the drug trade while punishing poor opium growers.

"Many suspected drug traffickers are now top officials in the Karzai government" In the absence of Taliban, the warlords largely control the opium trade but are also highly useful to the US forces in scouting, providing local intelligence"

Blow back imo for not only a war on drugs but also a useless invasion of Afghanistan

And as outlined in the documentary- "On October 28, 2010 agents of Russia’s Federal Service for the Control of Narcotics joined Afghan and American antidrug forces in an operation to destroy a major drug production site near Jalalabad. In the operation 932 kg (2,055 lb) of high quality heroin and 156 kg (345 lb) of opium, with a street value of US$ 250 million, and a large amount of technical equipment was destroyed. This was the first anti-drug operation to include Russian agents. According to Viktor Ivanov, Director of Russia’s Federal Service for the Control of Narcotics, this marks an advance in relations between Moscow and Washington. Afghan President Hamid Karzai called the operation a violation of Afghan sovereignty and international law "

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_p...2.80.932001.29

Does anyone really think 'drugs' should be illegal any more? As nice as this film was, I am going to have to say anyone 'against' still is so stupid that the human race is beyond hope. There is no hope, because no policy can change the immense, overwhelming stupidity of the human race.

PS, Tommy Chong for drug czar.

Regret, I do agree. I sort of miss when this issue was still a bit new and uncomfortable for me so that watching something like this wouldn't just be a ldo experience.

I was curious what the hell is going on with Bill Clinton in this film. He is coming off completely against the drug war but he was president in the 1990s and last I checked, the drug war kept beating its drums during that time. The president has a ton of authority over what the justice department devotes its resources to, so why the hell did he fight this war he seems so opposed to? Were his opinions different while president than they are now or was he just too politically motivated to do what he felt was right?

Standard coffee grumpy. The solution isn't complicated or unknown. It is nice that people understand where to go from here, so DO IT!

Learn from other countries? What, you hate America or something?

I know this was a rhetorical question, but the answer is yes. In fact the vast majority of people think drugs should be illegal. Anti-drug propaganda has been enormously successful.

He seemed to admit his police and military drug war policies failed and in the case of spraying fields in Columbia made more problems than before. Hindsight perhaps?

One of the main points I took from the movie is that politicians are, by nature, in a weak position to make sweeping drug war policy shifts. It takes a special breed of politician to do something here, short of a paradigm shift in the thinking of the voting masses.

How do we help create these shifts? Educational movies with big influential names and juicy facts sounds like a nice start.

Kinda like the whole mob propaganda about how nobody in the mob ever touched shipped sold or took and drug of any kind ever.

If you cannot express the argument in your own words then do not make it.

The threads in this forum revolve around quoting other posters and disputing specific points they make. With this video, there are no statements that one can grab and generate discussion with.

Nobody wants to watch it.

lol, have you not read the posts itt? did you make a troll account just to look silly? Plenty of people watched and enjoyed it. If everyone didn't generally agree on the absurdity of the drug war, the movie would spawn a lot more debate here. Had it been about whether drugs should be free and legal vs highly regulated and taxed, that likely would have been a more contentious issue on this forum. As it stands, people generally agree with the legalization premise but that doesn't mean it isn't a good watch.


What does everyone think about what seems to be such a legit budget documentary going straight to youtube? Seems really strange to me..I mean not even some random local openings or a film festival or two? Is going straight to youtube likely to get more or less exposure than what a random documentary gets on average?

My favorite is people who drink at least 2-3 beers a night who want pot to stay illegal.