The House I Live In (2012)

This sobering documentary is a must-see film certainly by all Americans and the rest of the world as well. We see how (now illegal) drugs were sold and used in pharmacies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There is excellent historical footage and documents, not to mention stories from those who were deeply affected, simply by their poverty level or the colour of their skin. Ronald Reagan, despite waging the "war on Drugs", made the entire situation much worse and ignored statistics. Throughout the film, we follow the narrator through his personal experiences as well as the drug issue on a wide-scale, looking into prisons and how the system is completely prejudicial. A VERY important film.

THE HOUSE I LIVE IN (dir. Eugene Jarecki) America has more of its citizens behind bars than in any other nation on the planet, and we presently have more Blacks incarcerated than were slaves in the Confederate States of America during the 1850's. And, America's misguided approach to the issue of illegal drugs is the single most important reason why so many of us are in prison. These are only a couple of startling revelations from Eugene Jarecki's riveting documentary about America's terribly misguided War On Drugs. Clearly we have chosen to solve a health issue by creating a ridiculous legal and political policy based on an oxymoron called, 'the criminal justice system'. Racial scapegoating and a system based on 'prisons for profit' have allowed us to spend billions, yet more people use illegal drugs today than when the drug war first began. And, the quality of these drugs is infinitely superior. No one, not the authorities or the criminals, seem to be satisfied with the status quo, and readily admit that the whole affair is an abject failure. But, the film shows how this suicidal social policy remains locked in place with no end in sight. Politicians campaign on making this nation drug free, and addiction rates soar and we can't seem to build jails quickly enough to fill them.If there was ever a solution that was immeasurably worse than the problem, it is The War On Drugs. ABSOLUTE MUST SEE

The Real Ongoing War On (poor) People...(no no)...I mean "Drugs". Words That Come To Mind: - Profound - Deep - Meaningful - Long Sighted - Well Rounded - Amazing Real Stories - Real People - Planned Social Injustice - Flawed Criminal Justice System (with proof) - Poverty - Immoral Prison Profits - Invisible class discrimination This is a Must See Well produced in Depth Documentary with will open your eyes not with anger but with compassion. Compassion IS the agent of change. I believe someone said "It is ones Civic duty to watch this doc" and while I found that a bit forward at first I now agree. Addicts need help not prisons however I personally believe our system is set up this way on purpose. Enslaving the poor with laws designed to target them and further more private prison systems to profit of of the enslavement. Invisible Social Injustice.Highly Recommend logging onto YouTube and watching some of Dr. Gabor's videos on addiction. He is almost mathematical about it...blew my mind. He is a credit to the community as a whole. Whatever Happened To THE WAR ON POVERTY? (now that's a war for me).

The House I Live In takes the complex issue of the failed war on drugs and breaks it down to a level that is both digestible and striking nonetheless. The film provides substantial historical evidence to make a powerful argument against the American war on drugs. The House I Live In exposes the many flaws of current anti-drug policies and strategies from a multitude of perspectives, drawing from historians and academics to front- of-the-line law enforcement and correctional officers alike. The film brilliantly ties these perspectives in a way that can effectively inspire viewers from all backgrounds to take a stand in confronting this largely unrecognized national issue.The film provides an impressively broad set of data and evidence that cohesively screams one message—the war on drugs is a failure to the American public. As the first film focused solely on the subject, The House I Live In is undoubtedly one of the decade's most important films.