I recommend that you watch the documentary The House I Live In, all of you. If you have never critically analyzed our "War On Drugs" or the policies our nation enforces where drug use and drug trafficking are concerned or if you disbelieve that there is a problem in our nation where systemic and institutionalized racism comes into play, then you absolutely need to take the time required to watch this film.
I am not a fan of drugs or drug use. I've had my experiences, numerous as they have been, and I opted to sober up of my own volition without treatment or incarceration. That needs to be said, because I wanted to establish my own perspective before I go any further.
Narrated by a man who's family immigrated to the United States in order to escape persecution in Europe during the spread of fascism, this ends up being an oftentimes chilling exploration of the problems with our legal attitudes toward drugs as a whole as well as the serious and severe issues in our society that contribute to the seemingly endless cycle of disenfranchisement that produces these crimes.
We have interviews with judges, police officers of all sorts, community leaders, prison guards, as well as numerous drug users and dealers (both on the street and incarcerated)...and it all paints a horrifying portrait of just how bad our government and legal system have failed massive segments of our population, most notably minorities and those who live in poverty.
If you can watch this documentary without feeling like there is something terribly wrong with the way we approach these things, you lack in basic reasoning capacity and human compassion.
The "War On Drugs" has been nothing but a costly, losing battle against an abstract, which is something a lot of us have known for a long time...and the problems have only gotten worse over the years as it devolved from the progressive and strangely human policy Nixon originally implemented.
Drugs are a problem. No one will dispute that fact. I certainly wouldn't deny that drugs destroy lives...but the drugs themselves aren't destroying lives at anywhere near the rate that our draconian policies happen to be. Those policies need to change, and we need to change the way we perceive the things we accept so readily without critical analysis from our government officials, law enforcement officers, and courts.
Watch the documentary, really think about what you're seeing, and try to find a better way...because we can't keep doing things the way we have been.
I am not a fan of drugs or drug use. I've had my experiences, numerous as they have been, and I opted to sober up of my own volition without treatment or incarceration. That needs to be said, because I wanted to establish my own perspective before I go any further.
Narrated by a man who's family immigrated to the United States in order to escape persecution in Europe during the spread of fascism, this ends up being an oftentimes chilling exploration of the problems with our legal attitudes toward drugs as a whole as well as the serious and severe issues in our society that contribute to the seemingly endless cycle of disenfranchisement that produces these crimes.
We have interviews with judges, police officers of all sorts, community leaders, prison guards, as well as numerous drug users and dealers (both on the street and incarcerated)...and it all paints a horrifying portrait of just how bad our government and legal system have failed massive segments of our population, most notably minorities and those who live in poverty.
If you can watch this documentary without feeling like there is something terribly wrong with the way we approach these things, you lack in basic reasoning capacity and human compassion.
The "War On Drugs" has been nothing but a costly, losing battle against an abstract, which is something a lot of us have known for a long time...and the problems have only gotten worse over the years as it devolved from the progressive and strangely human policy Nixon originally implemented.
Drugs are a problem. No one will dispute that fact. I certainly wouldn't deny that drugs destroy lives...but the drugs themselves aren't destroying lives at anywhere near the rate that our draconian policies happen to be. Those policies need to change, and we need to change the way we perceive the things we accept so readily without critical analysis from our government officials, law enforcement officers, and courts.
Watch the documentary, really think about what you're seeing, and try to find a better way...because we can't keep doing things the way we have been.