Kevin Booth’s “Last White Hope” in the drug war

Chelsea Robinson / Guest Writer / The USD Vista

Imagine an America where marijuana is legal. Not too far-fetched, right? Now, imagine an America where cocaine is illegal, but is being imported by the United States government. These are exactly the issues and allegations that Kevin Booth’s explosive documentary examines. Released in 2007, “American Drug War: The Last White Hope” aims to characterize the defects of President Nixon’s war on drugs and the consequential creation of the Drug Enforcement Agency or DEA. Since its implementation over 30 years ago, the budget has increased from $101 million to $20 billion which mirrors increased drug activity.

For the sake of showing how history repeats itself, here is a brief history lesson. The period of prohibition in the 1920s called for the abolition of the sale of alcohol. The goal was to deter people from consuming or bottling alcohol for the betterment of society. Sounds foolproof, right? The results were exactly the opposite of the legislation’s intention. More drinking occurred because the demand for alcohol was higher, spurring bootleggers to create microbreweries of moonshine, a more potent alcohol.

The drug war parallels the Prohibition. During his presidency, Nixon gave the country of Nepal $50 million to outlaw hashish and marijuana. In their place heroin became the popular new drug. News stories splashed “Crack cocaine is the new drug” or “Cocaine creates a better high and is more affordable,” and the media indirectly became an advertising tool rather than a deterrent to the drug’s use.

At its’ heart the documentary states that over one million inmates in state prisons are convicted of nonviolent drug crimes. Booth argues that this is a “profit scheme” for private penitentiaries to gain grants from the federal government. He also states that $1 billion in tax money could be saved by not incarcerating nonviolent drug users. Conviction of drug users also caters to racist persecutors. Interestingly enough, the documentary discusses the greed of the “big guys” in the drug war and how government agents, politicians, police officers and former dealers alike attempt to profit from the lure of the black market drug trade.

The legendary cocaine trafficker Ricky Ross, also known as the “Wal-Mart of crack,” embodies this American opportunist. He may be a drug dealer, but Booth shows that Ross is in no way oblivious to capitalism. In fact, Ross, expected to be released from imprisonment in 2013, later discovered that his cocaine dealer had been a CIA operative. Booth claims that people in the government know that the drug war will result in a stalemate yet they are addicted to the funding that accompanies it.

As political as “American Drug War” is, it offers an in-depth look into the drug-dealing society. The documentary includes commentary from formerly incarcerated comedian Tommy Chong as well as President Clinton’s former “Drug Czar” General Barry McCaffrey.

For additional insight and a deeply personal touch, Booth narrates several of his family members’ deaths as victims of legal drugs. He expresses his desire for the legalization of medical marijuana, stating that it could have potentially lengthened his father’s life. He also criticizes prescription drugs and tobacco, both of which he deems worse than street drugs because they are equally as addicting yet legal.

The documentary argues that marijuana is not a gateway drug, but rather a far less dangerous alternative to the hardcore street drugs. One commentator observed that by legalizing marijuana, Amsterdam made the drug “boring.” Another commentator observed that marijuana is the largest cash crop in California next to grapes. The upcoming election is certainly ripe for the discussion of this blazing topic- no pun intended.