***************** All these Sons by the Drug War Philospher at AbolishTheDEA.com
computer screen with words DRUG WAR BLOG


All these Sons

Another documentary that ignores the Drug War?

by Ballard Quass, the Drug War Philosopher




April 25, 2022

t's disappointing that a documentary about Chicago gun violence would not even mention the social policy that caused it: namely the Drug War. At least that's the impression one gets from Jessica Kiang's six-paragraph review of the film in Variety, in which the word 'drugs' is not even mentioned.

Yet, as Heather Ann Thompson wrote in The Atlantic in 2014: "Without the War on Drugs, the level of gun violence that plagues so many poor inner-city neighborhoods today simply would not exist."

It's as if Americans (documentary makers included) have become so indoctrinated in the drug-war ideology of substance demonization that they now take the Drug War as a natural baseline and therefore ignore its out-sized role in causing social problems: first and foremost the prevalence of gun violence in poor inner-city environments.

Inner-city violence will never end if we continue to ignore the single-most important reason that it exists in the first place.





Brian might have added that Lisa Ling from CNN did the exact same thing. She created a whole documentary about violence in Chicago ("This is Life with Lisa Ling: Chicago's History of Violence") and never ONCE mentioned the DRUG WAR! NOT ONCE! Is Lisa getting kickbacks from the DEA to remain quiet about this? Has she not heard how liquor prohibition created the American Mafia out of whole cloth? Can she really not understand that prohibition causes violence?

Thankfully, there are a rare few in the media who recognize this glaringly obvious fact, like Heather Ann Thompson of the Atlantic, who wrote in 2014 that: "Without the War on Drugs, the level of gun violence that plagues so many poor inner-city neighborhoods today simply would not exist."

Incidentally, Brian's too self-effacing to mention this, but do you know what? He has queried Variety NINE TIMES about the failure of his comments to appear on their digital page, and they have never so much as acknowledged his email. I betcha that Variety is thinking: "Oh, dear, we can't let this guy's comments appear: he's gonna start calling our reviewers out when it comes to those exciting Drug War movies!"

Well, no fear, Brian, I've got your back. (Let me know if you're free Wednesday night for a nice dish of stromboli!)

Drug War Movies







Hollywood supports the war on drugs by refusing to show wise use while always depicting drug use in the worst possible light. Like all media, they refuse to show beneficial use -- and if they're not depicting drugs as dangerous dead-ends, they're at least showing use to be frivolous and dangerous. The producers kowtow to drug warrior sensibilities.

  • All these Sons
  • Attention American Screenwriters: please stop spreading Drug War propaganda
  • Cop shows as drug war propaganda
  • COPS: TV Show for Racist Drug Warriors
  • Glenn Close but no cigar
  • Harold & Kumar Support the Drug War
  • How Variety and its film critics support drug war fascism
  • Moonfall
  • Running with the DEA -- er, I mean the Devil
  • Running with the torture loving DEA
  • The Runner: Racist Drug War Agitprop
  • Why Hollywood Owes Richard Nixon an Oscar



  • People

    about whom and to whom I've written over the years...

    Alexander, Lamar
    Letter to Lamar Alexander
    Barrett, Frederick S.
    The common sense way to get off of antidepressants
    Why the Drug War is Worse than you can Imagine
    Benaroch MD, Roy
    Open Letter to Roy Benaroch MD
    Bloom, Josh
    Science is not free in the age of the drug war
    Buchanan, Julian
    Finally, a drug war opponent who checks all my boxes
    Chalmers, David
    David Chalmers and the Drug War
    Chelmow MD, David
    How the US Preventive Services Task Force Drums Up Business for Big Pharma
    Chomsky, Noam
    Chomsky is Right
    Chomsky's Revenge
    Noam Chomsky on Drugs
    Cline, Ben
    Open Letter to Congressman Ben Cline, asking him to abolish the criminal DEA
    Close, Glenn
    Glenn Close but no cigar
    De Quincey, Thomas
    The Therapeutic Value of Anticipation
    Dick, Philip K.
    Drug Laws as the Punishment of 'Pre-Crime'
    Doblin, Rick
    Constructive criticism of the MAPS strategy for re-legalizing MDMA
    Is Rick Doblin Running with the Devil?
    Why Rick Doblin is Ghosting Me
    Ellsberg, Daniel
    Drug Warriors Fiddle while Rome Gets Nuked
    Floyd, George
    The Racist Drug War killed George Floyd
    Fort, Charles
    The Book of the Damned
    Fox, James Alan
    The Invisible Mass Shootings
    Friedman, Milton
    How Milton Friedman Completely Misunderstood the War on Drugs
    Fukuyama, Francis
    Open Letter to Francis Fukuyama
    Gibb, Andy
    How The Drug War Killed Andy Gibb
    Gimbel, Steven
    Heroin versus Alcohol
    Glaser, Gabrielle
    Open Letter to Gabrielle Glaser
    Glieberman, Owen
    Open Letter to Variety Critic Owen Glieberman
    Glover, Troy
    Open letter to Professor Troy Glover at Waterloo University
    Goswami, Amit
    Alternative Medicine as a Drug War Creation
    Gottlieb, Anthony
    Open Letter to Anthony Gottlieb
    Grandmaster Flash, musician
    Grandmaster Flash: Drug War Collaborator
    Griffiths, Roland
    Depressed? Here's why you can't get the medicines that you need
    Open Letter to Rick Doblin and Roland Griffiths
    Gupta, Sujata
    The Mother of all Western Biases
    Hammersley, Richard
    Open Letter to Richard Hammersley
    Handwerk, Brian
    How National Geographic slanders the Inca people and their use of coca
    Harris, Kamala
    Why I Support Kamala Harris
    Harrison, Francis Burton
    Screw You, Francis Burton Harrison
    Hart, Carl
    Open Letter to Dr. Carl L. Hart
    What Carl Hart Missed
    Harvey, Dennis
    How Variety and its film critics support drug war fascism
    Heidegger, Martin
    Heidegger on Drugs
    Hogshire, Jim
    I've got a bone to pick with Jim Hogshire
    Opium for the Masses by Jim Hogshire
    What Jim Hogshire Got Wrong about Drugs
    Hurley, Vincent
    Open Letter to Vincent Hurley, Lecturer
    Hutton, Ronald
    Drug Dealers as Modern Witches
    James, William
    How the Drug War is Threatening Intellectual Freedom in England
    Keep Laughing Gas Legal
    The Criminalization of Nitrous Oxide is No Laughing Matter
    William James rolls over in his grave as England bans Laughing Gas
    Jefferson, Thomas
    A Misguided Tour of Monticello
    How the Jefferson Foundation Betrayed Thomas Jefferson
    How the Monticello Foundation betrayed Jefferson's Legacy in 1987
    Jefferson
    The Dark Side of the Monticello Foundation
    Jenkins, Philip
    'Synthetic Panics' by Philip Jenkins
    Jenkins DA, Brooke
    Prohibitionists Never Learn
    Kant, Immanuel
    How the Drug War limits our understanding of Immanuel Kant
    How the Drug War Outlaws Criticism of Immanuel Kant
    Kastrup, Bernardo
    How Bernardo Kastrup reckons without the drug war
    Kenny, Gino
    The Right to LIVE FULLY is more important than the Right to DIE
    Kirsch, Irving
    Brahms is NOT the best antidepressant
    Klang, Jessica
    All these Sons
    Kotek, Tina
    Regulate and Educate
    Koterski, Jospeh
    America's Blind Spot
    Kurtz, Matthew M.
    How Scientific American reckons without the drug war
    Langlitz, Nicolas
    Why the FDA is not qualified to judge psychoactive medicine
    Lee, Spike
    Spike Lee is Bamboozled by the Drug War
    Leshner, Alan I.
    How the Drug War Screws the Depressed
    Lewis, Edward
    Psilocybin Mushrooms by Edward Lewis
    Ling, Lisa
    Open Letter to Lisa Ling
    Locke, John
    John Locke on Drugs
    Maples-Keller, Jessica
    Hello? MDMA works, already!
    Margaritoff , Marco
    In Defense of Opium
    Margaritoff, Margo
    Open Letter to Margo Margaritoff
    Marinacci, Mike
    Psychedelic Cults and Outlaw Churches: LSD, Cannabis, and Spiritual Sacraments in Underground America
    Martinez, Liz
    Replacing antidepressants with entheogens
    Mate, Gabor
    In the Realm of Hungry Drug Warriors
    Open Letter to Addiction Specialist Gabor Mate
    Sherlock Holmes versus Gabor Maté
    McAllister, Sean
    How to Unite Drug War Opponents of all Ethnicities
    Mithoefer, MD, Michael
    MDMA for Psychotherapy
    Mohler, George
    Predictive Policing in the Age of the Drug War
    Morgan, Cory
    Canadian Drug Warrior, I said Get Away
    Naz, Arab
    The Menace of the Drug War
    Newcombe, Russell
    Intoxiphobia
    Nietzsche, Friedrich
    Nietzsche and the Drug War
    Nixon, Richard
    Why Hollywood Owes Richard Nixon an Oscar
    Noakes, Jesse
    Americans have the right to pursue happiness but not to attain it
    Nobis, Nathan
    Top 10 Problems with the Drug War
    Nutt, David
    Majoring in Drug War Philosophy
    O'Leary, Diane
    Open Letter to Diane O'Leary
    Obama, Barack
    What Obama got wrong about drugs
    Offenhartz, Jake
    Libertarians as Closet Christian Scientists
    Pearson, Snoop
    Snoop Pearson's muddle-headed take on drugs
    Perry, Matthew
    Drug War Murderers
    Matthew Perry and the Drug War Ghouls
    Pinchbeck, Daniel
    Review of When Plants Dream
    Polk, Thad
    How Addiction Scientists Reckon without the Drug War
    Pollan, Michael
    Michael Pollan on Drugs
    My Conversation with Michael Pollan
    The Michael Pollan Fallacy
    Rado, Vincent
    Open Letter to Vincent Rado
    Reuter , Peter
    The problem with Modern Drug Reform Efforts
    Rovelli, Carlo
    Why Science is the Handmaiden of the Drug War
    Rudgeley, Richard
    Richard Rudgley condemns 'drugs' with faint praise
    Sabet, Kevin
    Why Kevin Sabet's approach to drugs is racist, anti-scientific and counterproductive
    Sanders, Laura
    Science News Continues to Ignore the Drug War
    Schopenhauer, Arthur
    What if Arthur Schopenhauer Had Used DMT?
    Schultes, Richard Evans
    The Drug War Imperialism of Richard Evans Schultes
    Segall PhD, Matthew D.
    Why Philosophers Need to Stop Dogmatically Ignoring Drugs
    Sewell, Kenneth
    Open letter to Kenneth Sewell
    Shapiro, Arthur
    Illusions with Professor Arthur Shapiro
    Smith, Wolfgang
    Open letter to Wolfgang Smith
    Unscientific American
    Smyth, Bobby
    Teenagers and Cannabis
    Sotillos, Samuel Bendeck
    In Defense of Religious Drug Use
    Stea, Jonathan
    The Pseudoscience of Mental Health Treatment
    Strassman, Rick
    Five problems with The Psychedelic Handbook by Rick Strassman
    What Rick Strassman Got Wrong
    Szasz, Thomas
    In Praise of Thomas Szasz
    Tulfo, Ramon T.
    Why the Drug War is far worse than a failure
    Urquhart, Steven
    No drugs are bad in and of themselves
    Vance, Laurence
    In Response to Laurence Vance
    Walker, Lynn
    Ignorance is the enemy, not Fentanyl
    Walsh, Bryan
    The Drug War and Armageddon
    The End Times by Bryan Walsh
    Warner, Mark
    Another Cry in the Wilderness
    Weil, Andrew
    What Andrew Weil Got Wrong
    Whitehead, Alfred North
    Whitehead and Psychedelics
    Willyard, Cassandra
    Science News magazine continues to pretend that there is no war on drugs
    Winehouse, Amy
    How the Drug War Killed Amy Winehouse
    Wininger, Charley
    Getting off antidepressants in the age of the drug war
    Wuthnow, Robert
    Clodhoppers on Drugs
    Zelfand, Erica
    Open Letter to Erica Zelfand
    Zinn, Howard
    Even Howard Zinn Reckons without the Drug War
    Zuboff, Shoshana
    Tune In, Turn On, Opt Out





    computer screen with words DRUG WAR BLOG


    Next essay: The Dark Side of the Monticello Foundation
    Previous essay: How the Drug War is a War on Creativity

    More Essays Here




    Some Tweets against the hateful war on drugs

    Talking about being in denial: drug warriors blame all of the problems that they cause on "drugs" and then insist that the entire WORLD accept their jaundiced view of the natural bounty that God himself told us was good.
    Like when Laura Sanders tells us in Science News that depression is an intractable problem, she should rather tell us: "Depression is an intractable problem... that is, in a world wherein we refuse to consider the benefits of 'drugs,' let alone to fight for their beneficial use."
    Some fat cat should treat the entire Supreme Court to a vacation at San Jose del Pacifico in Mexico, where they can partake of the magic mushroom in a ceremony led by a Zapotec guide.
    At best, antidepressants make depression bearable. We need not settle for such drugs, especially when they are notorious for causing dependence. There are many drugs that elate and inspire. It is both cruel and criminal to outlaw them.
    Even if the FDA approved MDMA today, it would only be available for folks specifically pronounced to have PTSD by materialist doctors, as if all other emotional issues are different problems and have to be studied separately. That's just ideological foot-dragging.
    I personally hate beets and I could make a health argument against their legality. Beets can kill for those allergic to them. Sure, it's a rare condition, but since when has that stopped a prohibitionist from screaming bloody murder?
    In Mexico, the same substance can be considered a "drug" or a "med," depending on where you are in the country. It's just another absurd result of the absurd policy of drug prohibition.
    Typical materialist protocol. Take all the "wonder" out of the drug and sell it as a one-size-fits all "reductionist" cure for anxiety. Notice that they refer to hallucinations and euphoria as "adverse effects." What next? Communion wine with the religion taken out of it?
    In "The Book of the Damned," Charles Fort shows how science damns (i.e. excludes) facts that it cannot assimilate into a system of knowledge. Fort could never have guessed, however, how thoroughly science would eventually "damn" all positive facts about "drugs."
    Drug warriors are too selfish and short-sighted to fight real problems, so they blame everything on drugs.
    More Tweets






    front cover of Drug War Comic Book

    Buy the Drug War Comic Book by the Drug War Philosopher Brian Quass, featuring 150 hilarious op-ed pics about America's disgraceful war on Americans



    You have been reading an article entitled, All these Sons: Another documentary that ignores the Drug War?, published on April 25, 2022 on AbolishTheDEA.com. For more information about America's disgraceful drug war, which is anti-patient, anti-minority, anti-scientific, anti-mother nature, imperialistic, the establishment of the Christian Science religion, a violation of the natural law upon which America was founded, and a childish and counterproductive way of looking at the world, one which causes all of the problems that it purports to solve, and then some, visit the drug war philosopher, at abolishTheDEA.com. (philosopher's bio; go to top of this page)