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FEMALE REPORTER:
For decades, millions
of people have come here
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00:00:51,752 --> 00:00:53,685
in search of
the American Dream,
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00:00:53,687 --> 00:00:57,656
but for many, that dream
is quickly disappearing.
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MALE NARRATOR:
Are you unemployed
or stuck in a dead-end job?
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FEMALE REPORTER: Thousands
of people around the state are
losing their jobs every day.
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NARRATOR:
Are you homeless, or living
in a bad neighborhood?
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FEMALE REPORTER: Unemployment
shot up to its highest level
in nearly 26 years.
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NARRATOR:
If the "American Dream"
broke its promise to you,
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don't worry,
we have an answer.
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50 CENT:
Let me help you
help yourself.
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I'm gonna give you
three and a half grams.
You know what to do with this?
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'Cause if you know
what to do with it,
you gonna be all right.
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NARRATOR:
Welcome to the game.
This is your guide book.
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Our experts are going
to give you everything
you need.
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It's very easy
to make a lot of money
with cocaine. (LAUGHS)
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NARRATOR:
You could have a six
figure starting salary...
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It's hard for me to believe
that something that small
could be worth so much money.
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NARRATOR: You can
make a million dollars
in a week
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In this program,
masters of the trade
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on how to get paid
in this exciting $400
billion global industry.
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For the next 90 minutes,
we're going to focus on
marijuana and cocaine,
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but the same lessons work
for any illegal substance
Americans are willing to buy,
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or climb to the very top
of the food chain
and make billions.
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This training guide
will show you how to do it.
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You want to know
how to make money
selling drugs?
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BOBBY CARLTON:
Name's Bobby Carlton,
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I've lived pretty much
in every ghetto town,
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and my mom
had it rough raising us.
She had me very young.
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A year after
I was, uh, born,
my brother was born.
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Years later,
I'd have two sisters.
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Stepfather, two sisters,
he'd eventually leave,
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and then she'd be
stuck with four kids.
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She'd basically just
try to raise a family
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and try to earn enough
to put food on the table.
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I look at people,
they got to get up,
they got to be in an office,
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they got to go to a factory,
they got to bang their
heads against a wall,
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they're trying
to earn, earn, earn,
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but really, what they're
doing is just barely
making their payments.
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(STUTTERS)
They're working
just to get by.
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I wanted to make
money to go live.
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I was always looking up
to the bigger kids,
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who, people
I perceived cool and
trying to emulate them.
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The guys hanging
on the street corner,
not working,
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they have girls,
they have cars,
they have money,
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they seemingly don't ever
have to be anywhere
at any certain time.
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And I want in. I'm in.
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NARRATOR:
What Bobby Carlton
was about to discover
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is that marijuana
makes money.
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More money than tobacco,
cotton, even corn.
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It's the most profitable
farmed product
in the country.
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I smoked a joint,
and then you just
get into it.
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And then other
people want to do it.
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seven joints were in a bag,
it's a dollar for a joint,
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you pay $5
for that bag.
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Okay. I'll buy a bag,
break it down,
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sell five joints,
smoke two myself.
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It's kind of
innocent, right?
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CARLTON: Ninth grade...
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but then they were like,
"How many grams
are in an ounce?"
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They were like, "How many
pounds are in a kilo?"
I was like, "2.2."
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"And do you want me
to tell you how much
that costs?"
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Hence, everybody
at school knew what
I was up to that day.
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NARRATOR:
If Bobby Carlton
can do it, so can you.
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How do you expand from
a small circle of friends
and attract more clients?
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Making money
selling drugs is easy.
(LAUGHS)
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NARRATOR: Meet Pepe,
a retired Southern
California drug dealer,
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who's going to tell you
how simple it is
to get customers.
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Like I say, is not hard.
Everybody can do it.
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Well, you just
walk out to the street
and the park
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and everybody is gonna
say, "Hey! Spark it up,"
and you'll start rolling.
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If you smoke outside,
you make a friend,
because weed makes friends.
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Weed makes friends.
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NARRATOR:
Now that you've
got some customers,
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you're gonna
need some product.
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Where do you get it?
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NEILL FRANKLIN:
Most people know
where to get it,
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and if you don't
know where to get
marijuana in bulk to sell,
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all you have to do is
ask one or two people,
and someone's gonna know.
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People will front you
as many drugs
as you can sell.
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As long as you can continue
to pay people back,
they will front them to you.
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NARRATOR: And if you want
to skip the middle men?
Grow your own weed.
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Pepe spent quite a few winters
making a lot of money without
ever having to leave home.
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To grow some weed,
uh, in your house,
you only need electricity,
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big lamps, and water.
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PEPE: You get in the internet,
you have the seeds, you know.
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CARLTON: This is just
kind of like a starter kit
for people.
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You can get it
at any hydroponics store
and get your whole setup.
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They'll sell you the tubes,
the nutrients,
the little planters.
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In about 45 days,
these will grow to
about six feet tall,
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be lush, green,
and lovely.
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let it dry for a couple
of days, and then pick
all the buds off.
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NARRATOR:
So how much money
can you expect to make?
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Yeah, you can make
a lot of money.
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I mean, like,
is gonna grow a pound
for each plant,
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and a pound
in the streets
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goes $2,500, $3,000,
if it is a good weed.
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Per 10, how much
you gonna have?
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$30,000.
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In three months,
people, they doing
a whole house.
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If you put 50,
150 thousand.
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(LAUGHS)
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NARRATOR:
For many dealers, the risk
of jail time is worth it.
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You make $100,000
selling drugs.
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Hide the money,
and go to jail, and when you
come out, you have money.
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If somebody gave me
$100,000 to go to jail
for five years,
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I would take it,
you know.
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What the fuck.
I mean, you...
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Sometimes, you work
10 years
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and you don't
even see $20,000
in your bank account.
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NARRATOR: But the nearly
one million Americans arrested
each year for marijuana
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are caught on
possession charges,
and never even sold a joint.
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Given the risks,
you'll want to save your
money as fast as you can
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and start trading
more expensive drugs.
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I got into cocaine,
and I loved it.
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NARRATOR: When it comes
to cocaine, America is
the land of opportunity.
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It's the number one
consumer of coke
in the world.
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WOMAN: The largest study
of bank notes
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has found that
nearly nine
out of 10 bills
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circulating in the U.S.
are tainted with cocaine.
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NARRATOR:
It's a law of nature.
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Where there's demand,
there's supply.
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And that's where
you come in.
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The life of a coke dealer
isn't easy.
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When you start out,
you're alone, unprotected,
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at the bottom of
a ruthless, international
crime syndicate.
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00:08:05,986 --> 00:08:10,222
Most of the world's cocaine
is manufactured by drug lords
in South America.
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They smuggle over
500 tons into the U.S.
every year.
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Along the way,
it passes through
a long line of distributers,
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until a couple
of grams get to you,
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a pawn in a massive,
70 billion dollar game.
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Pawns, man, in the game,
they get capped quick.
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They be out
the game early.
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Unless they some
smart ass pawns.
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NARRATOR: Curtis Jackson,
otherwise known as 50 Cent,
had to learn quick.
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My mom hustled
to provide for me,
financially.
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And her friends were all
the people that were out
selling drugs as a lifestyle.
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NARRATOR:
Curtis was raised
without a father,
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and his mother
was murdered when
he was eight years old.
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My mom was all I had,
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so when I lost her,
I lost everything that was
pretty much good in my life.
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Her old friends
bought me things,
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then they got tired
of just buying me things.
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They gave me an eight
ball of cocaine.
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And they told me,
if anybody bothers you,
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you know, you tell them
you got it from us,
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and you'll be all right
in the neighborhood.
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I was about 12 years old
when that happened to me.
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NARRATOR:
That's the incredible
thing about cocaine.
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You can use it to make
ends meet when there
are no other options.
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You can be anybody,
even a kid.
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I would say about 14 or 15.
That's when I pretty much
started into the drug trade.
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NARRATOR: Let's say you're
down and out, like John was,
living in South Central L.A.,
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00:09:46,687 --> 00:09:48,320
crashing at your
family's place,
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with no money,
not even for food.
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HARRIEL:
We were living in the back
of my uncle's house.
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He had this lemon tree,
and one day he came out
and he was like,
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We didn't have no food.
You know, me and my mom
was eating lemons for dinner.
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00:09:59,700 --> 00:10:01,733
So, after that,
I had to get paid.
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00:10:03,269 --> 00:10:06,237
The money that you could
make on the corner
was real good.
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00:10:06,239 --> 00:10:10,342
I started off with
small amounts, then I got
to the big amounts.
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00:10:10,344 --> 00:10:14,346
NARRATOR: Crack, the most
popular form of cocaine
sold in the open market.
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It's cheaper than powder,
so low income users
can afford it.
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00:10:17,684 --> 00:10:19,284
When you work
for an organization,
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00:10:19,286 --> 00:10:22,120
they'll supply you with
$10 crack cocaine rocks.
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00:10:22,122 --> 00:10:24,222
Because most of your
customers are addicts,
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00:10:24,224 --> 00:10:27,325
they'll be impatient
to make a buy
right out on the street.
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00:10:27,327 --> 00:10:30,795
And the good thing
about crack fiends is
they'll keep coming back.
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00:10:30,797 --> 00:10:33,965
Some guys will make
anywhere from $1,000
to $10,000 a day.
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MAN:
Are you the man
with them jumbo 6s?
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I'll take about three
or four hundred.
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Damn.
(GUN COCKING)
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(LAUGHS)
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00:10:52,753 --> 00:10:58,256
50 CENT: It's harder than
functioning in mainstream
or corporate America
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00:10:58,258 --> 00:11:00,759
because the dynamics
of it is different.
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00:11:00,761 --> 00:11:05,263
In order to take a position
in that world, you can just,
"pow." Just shoot.
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00:11:05,265 --> 00:11:07,365
CARLTON: The chances
of getting robbed are
pretty great, you know?
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00:11:07,367 --> 00:11:10,135
You do
as much as you can
to minimize that,
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00:11:10,137 --> 00:11:12,303
but somebody at some point
is gonna want what you have,
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00:11:12,305 --> 00:11:14,105
and they're not gonna have
the money to pay for it.
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00:11:14,107 --> 00:11:16,007
They are gonna try
and take it from you.
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00:11:16,009 --> 00:11:21,012
with 30 years' experience
investigating
the criminal drug world.
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00:11:21,014 --> 00:11:26,918
If I steal
a television set out of,
uh, you know, Best Buy,
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00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:31,256
it lists for $1,000,
I'll sell it for $200
on the street.
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00:11:31,258 --> 00:11:36,027
If I go rob
the dope dealer,
I get all his cash,
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00:11:36,029 --> 00:11:37,295
and I get drugs.
187
00:11:37,297 --> 00:11:39,364
And the advantage
of stolen drugs is
188
00:11:39,366 --> 00:11:42,267
when I steal
a guy's coke
that's worth $1,000,
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00:11:42,269 --> 00:11:44,436
I get to sell it
for $1,000!
190
00:11:44,438 --> 00:11:46,471
There's no discount
for hot dope.
191
00:11:46,473 --> 00:11:47,939
MAN:
Ever happened to you?
192
00:11:47,941 --> 00:11:49,774
Mmm.
193
00:11:49,776 --> 00:11:51,776
Not me. No, I never had
no problems like that.
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00:11:51,778 --> 00:11:54,479
'Cause at the end of the day,
you fuck me, you gonna
know what's happening.
195
00:11:54,481 --> 00:11:59,050
Are you gonna give them
your drugs or are you gonna
tell them to fuck off?
196
00:11:59,052 --> 00:12:01,286
And I'm the person
that's gonna say fuck off.
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00:12:01,288 --> 00:12:04,456
If you don't have a pistol,
I don't know why you even
selling dope.
198
00:12:04,458 --> 00:12:07,325
You won't last.
'Cause somebody
gonna try you.
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00:12:07,327 --> 00:12:10,428
FRANKLIN:
Anyone who is dealing
drugs in this community,
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00:12:10,430 --> 00:12:14,199
if they do not have
a gun on them,
believe me, it's close by.
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00:12:14,201 --> 00:12:18,303
It's under a stoop,
right around a corner,
tucked behind a phone booth,
202
00:12:18,305 --> 00:12:19,471
but it's close by.
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00:12:19,473 --> 00:12:23,308
They look up in your face,
they look up in your eye,
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00:12:23,310 --> 00:12:25,343
they see the gun
and they know
who's gonna use it,
205
00:12:25,345 --> 00:12:26,444
who ain't gonna use it.
206
00:12:28,447 --> 00:12:31,316
A, assess.
"Don't shoot them,
kill them."
207
00:12:32,485 --> 00:12:35,019
Because if you shoot them,
you gonna make them
angry enough to come back
208
00:12:35,021 --> 00:12:36,187
and really hurt you.
209
00:12:36,189 --> 00:12:38,356
So, if you're gonna shoot,
shoot to kill.
210
00:12:38,358 --> 00:12:43,128
It was like motherfuckers
were shooting each other
every day on the news.
211
00:12:43,130 --> 00:12:46,498
It was like,
New York, very much like
a stabbing society, you know.
212
00:12:46,500 --> 00:12:49,267
Something goes wrong,
somebody sticks a knife
in your chest.
213
00:12:49,269 --> 00:12:51,970
It was a drug deal gone bad,
I got the worst of it.
214
00:12:51,972 --> 00:12:54,839
Stabbed here,
stabbed here,
stabbed here.
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00:12:54,841 --> 00:12:59,110
Once in the back of the head,
once in the chest,
entered the left ventricle,
216
00:12:59,112 --> 00:13:01,913
and this is from
the open heart surgery.
217
00:13:04,049 --> 00:13:09,287
I don't want to say it's
a miracle, but the doctor
brought me back to life.
218
00:13:09,289 --> 00:13:12,257
NARRATOR:
If you really want to lower
your risk of getting hurt,
219
00:13:12,259 --> 00:13:15,994
stabbed or shot,
packing a gun can
only get you so far.
220
00:13:15,996 --> 00:13:18,062
Hiring backup
is a great idea.
221
00:13:18,064 --> 00:13:19,397
Who do I hire?
222
00:13:19,399 --> 00:13:22,367
Do I hire nobody...
Nobody's heard of?
223
00:13:22,369 --> 00:13:24,869
Or do I hire a guy
who's got the biggest
reputation
224
00:13:24,871 --> 00:13:27,138
for being the craziest
motherfucker?
225
00:13:27,140 --> 00:13:32,277
The illegal drug market
hires people with
reputations for violence.
226
00:13:32,279 --> 00:13:34,946
NARRATOR: But don't think
just because you have
a gun and a few guys,
227
00:13:34,948 --> 00:13:37,882
you can just go out
and start
acquiring territory.
228
00:13:37,884 --> 00:13:42,954
Officer Neill Franklin served
33 years on the Maryland State
and Baltimore police forces.
229
00:13:42,956 --> 00:13:46,424
Having overseen
17 drug task forces,
he can tell you,
230
00:13:46,426 --> 00:13:48,326
if you want to be
a corner hustler,
231
00:13:48,328 --> 00:13:50,295
you're gonna need
permission first.
232
00:13:50,297 --> 00:13:53,932
FRANKLIN:
As you try to acquire
your market place,
233
00:13:53,934 --> 00:13:57,001
there's probably gonna
be someone already there.
234
00:13:57,003 --> 00:14:01,005
They're not going
to share or give up
their territory that easily.
235
00:14:01,007 --> 00:14:04,275
They're not going
to share it
or give it up. Period.
236
00:14:04,277 --> 00:14:06,277
They would definitely
approach you,
237
00:14:06,279 --> 00:14:12,183
trying to sell it
in an area without
someone's consent.
238
00:14:12,185 --> 00:14:15,453
So I registered with
the neighborhood thugs,
and that's how I got on.
239
00:14:15,455 --> 00:14:17,555
Basically,
you got to protect
your neighborhood,
240
00:14:17,557 --> 00:14:20,158
and do the things
that the organization
require you to do
241
00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:23,928
FRANKLIN:
I remember having
a homicide one day,
242
00:14:23,930 --> 00:14:25,196
and they set
this inmate before me.
243
00:14:25,198 --> 00:14:30,435
Two seconds into
the conversation, I realize
I used to play with this kid
244
00:14:30,437 --> 00:14:31,603
and knew his brothers.
245
00:14:31,605 --> 00:14:35,506
"How'd you get in here?"
He said, "Well, I'm
in here for homicide."
246
00:14:35,508 --> 00:14:39,377
He says,
"Well, I was in the game.
I was in the game.
247
00:14:39,379 --> 00:14:42,347
"And in an alley
behind Callow Street,
248
00:14:42,349 --> 00:14:45,116
"I had to do what I had
to do, and I ended up
taking someone's life
249
00:14:45,118 --> 00:14:49,554
"defending myself
because I had to
defend my territory
250
00:14:49,556 --> 00:14:51,923
"and my business."
251
00:14:51,925 --> 00:14:55,159
NARRATOR: So now you know
what it takes to make it on
the street in the open market.
252
00:14:55,161 --> 00:14:58,496
But prices for drugs nowadays
are way cheaper than
when Big John was selling,
253
00:14:58,498 --> 00:15:00,365
and the risks
are just as high.
254
00:15:00,367 --> 00:15:02,367
If you don't wind up
getting killed by rivals,
255
00:15:02,369 --> 00:15:03,968
or hooked on
your own product,
256
00:15:03,970 --> 00:15:09,407
In today's drug market,
you're risking your life
for less than minimum wage.
257
00:15:09,409 --> 00:15:13,344
If you want to go
for the real money,
you got to get off the corner.
258
00:15:24,456 --> 00:15:27,358
Detroit.
City of opportunity.
259
00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:30,995
Once upon a time,
the symbol of America's
might and power.
260
00:15:30,997 --> 00:15:33,298
The heart of our
manufacturing industry.
261
00:15:33,300 --> 00:15:35,600
The home of
the American Dream.
262
00:15:40,006 --> 00:15:44,642
One of the highest
unemployment rates
in the nation.
263
00:15:44,644 --> 00:15:48,980
Twenty-five percent of
the population has left
in the last 10 years.
264
00:15:48,982 --> 00:15:54,118
For those without a job
or who can't move,
they need to hustle.
265
00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:58,089
Mr. X wants to get out of
the downward spiral
that's hit Detroit today.
266
00:15:59,058 --> 00:16:00,959
And he's going to tell you
what that means.
267
00:16:00,961 --> 00:16:06,030
or coke, or whatever
the fuck they're
selling that's illegal.
268
00:16:06,032 --> 00:16:08,032
Because that's
the only way out.
269
00:16:08,034 --> 00:16:11,336
I have a lot of bills.
I got rent to pay.
270
00:16:11,338 --> 00:16:15,206
But don't nobody
really care about
your problems, man.
271
00:16:15,208 --> 00:16:18,509
You got to have the money,
so, welcome
to the cocaine game.
272
00:16:20,379 --> 00:16:22,647
I rarely show
my face on the scene.
273
00:16:22,649 --> 00:16:24,716
Oh, man, I play
the phone game, man.
274
00:16:24,718 --> 00:16:27,285
Switch up my phones.
Keeps me off the corner.
275
00:16:27,287 --> 00:16:30,221
(CLIENT TALKING
OVER PHONE)
276
00:16:36,729 --> 00:16:39,330
Uh, what is it
that you want?
277
00:16:39,332 --> 00:16:42,133
(CLIENT TALKING
OVER PHONE)
278
00:16:44,069 --> 00:16:46,004
Yeah I can get you
a T for 70.
279
00:16:46,006 --> 00:16:48,339
CLIENT:
Okay, cool. I'll see you
in 30 minutes. Bye.
280
00:16:48,341 --> 00:16:49,474
Bye.
281
00:16:49,476 --> 00:16:51,609
And bam.
(DINGS)
282
00:16:51,611 --> 00:16:53,111
That's how you win.
283
00:16:55,014 --> 00:16:57,148
Shit, I'll be damned
if somebody tell me,
284
00:16:57,150 --> 00:17:01,452
"You got us working
eight hours for fucking
$60, $70, man."
285
00:17:01,454 --> 00:17:03,621
That's crazy.
That's too much work.
286
00:17:03,623 --> 00:17:05,423
I just made that shit
in a phone call.
287
00:17:05,425 --> 00:17:07,625
The American Dream
is just to have
enough money
288
00:17:07,627 --> 00:17:10,661
to be able to do whatever
you want to do, whenever
you want to do it,
289
00:17:10,663 --> 00:17:13,264
based on your own
hard work.
290
00:17:13,266 --> 00:17:15,500
Shit, just what I have
on the counter
would probably get me
291
00:17:15,502 --> 00:17:18,236
anywhere from 10 years
to about 15 years.
292
00:17:18,238 --> 00:17:23,508
I'd rather be
out here getting it
than not getting it at all,
293
00:17:23,510 --> 00:17:28,513
I've been really trying
to free myself,
use the coke to free myself.
294
00:17:28,515 --> 00:17:32,283
NARRATOR: As a private cocaine
dealer, you'll be mostly
selling Ts and eight balls,
295
00:17:32,285 --> 00:17:36,654
sixteenth or eighth of
an ounce little baggies for
up to 150 bucks a pop.
296
00:17:36,656 --> 00:17:39,123
Ramping up
to 20 customers
a day is easy.
297
00:17:39,125 --> 00:17:42,393
You'll be paying $500
for your day's worth
of cocaine,
298
00:17:42,395 --> 00:17:44,796
and you'll cut it in
half with baby laxative,
299
00:17:44,798 --> 00:17:49,133
which brings your profit
to a total of a grand a day,
and you just got started.
300
00:17:50,502 --> 00:17:52,537
MR. X: Fiends from outside
into your home.
301
00:17:52,539 --> 00:17:59,777
They might bring the police
with them, with the wire
taps and everything.
302
00:17:59,779 --> 00:18:05,416
Man, they try to get as close
to you as possible, and you
keep them at a distance.
303
00:18:05,418 --> 00:18:07,652
But you got to keep
that friendship with them.
304
00:18:07,654 --> 00:18:10,588
You can't be like,
aggressive with
your customers.
305
00:18:10,590 --> 00:18:15,393
You got to treat them fair,
you got to treat them
like regular people.
306
00:18:15,395 --> 00:18:19,430
Man, a stash spot
is stashed away, hidden.
307
00:18:19,432 --> 00:18:23,401
Get that shit out the house,
keep it out the house.
308
00:18:23,403 --> 00:18:25,570
Don't let nobody come
to the house to buy it.
309
00:18:25,572 --> 00:18:30,541
I wouldn't put my money
anywhere that someone
else can control it.
310
00:18:30,543 --> 00:18:34,679
It'd be best
to hide that wherever
you put your dope at.
311
00:18:35,848 --> 00:18:38,583
You get about 500,000
or something like that.
312
00:18:38,585 --> 00:18:42,320
Start me a couple
businesses, man, get right
up out of this shit.
313
00:18:42,322 --> 00:18:45,590
If you decide that
you ever want to
pick up this game,
314
00:18:45,592 --> 00:18:49,193
shit, pick it up
for the right reason,
the money only.
315
00:18:49,195 --> 00:18:52,396
Save from the time that
you get it to the time
that you quit, man.
316
00:18:52,398 --> 00:18:54,465
And you won't be
in it so long.
317
00:18:54,467 --> 00:18:56,601
NARRATOR:
If you choose
to be a cocaine dealer,
318
00:18:56,603 --> 00:19:02,707
If you're black, you're about
four times as likely to be
arrested than a white dealer,
319
00:19:02,709 --> 00:19:08,246
because white Americans
buy and sell more cocaine
than anyone else.
320
00:19:08,248 --> 00:19:11,582
It's the circumstances
to where they're actually
setting up to sell the drugs,
321
00:19:11,584 --> 00:19:15,219
See, the black drug
dealers will be
in the neighborhoods
322
00:19:15,221 --> 00:19:18,890
where the law enforcement
will search people
without very much reasoning.
323
00:19:18,892 --> 00:19:20,858
I mean, my first case,
it was like a fluke.
324
00:19:20,860 --> 00:19:26,197
He, uh, ran where we're at.
I happened to be just
standing outside,
325
00:19:26,199 --> 00:19:28,166
and the police say,
"Get up against the fence."
326
00:19:28,168 --> 00:19:31,235
And I'm like,
"Man, come on, why I got
to get up against the fence?"
327
00:19:31,237 --> 00:19:32,303
"Shut up."
328
00:19:32,305 --> 00:19:34,405
Next thing you know,
329
00:19:34,407 --> 00:19:36,574
they pulled this
big brick out my pocket.
(CHUCKLES)
330
00:19:36,576 --> 00:19:38,643
So, that was the beginning
of the end, right there.
331
00:19:38,645 --> 00:19:40,811
NARRATOR:
You're not only more
likely to be arrested,
332
00:19:40,813 --> 00:19:43,281
but prosecuted,
with heavy prison time.
333
00:19:43,283 --> 00:19:47,818
The reason that
94.5% of people
incarcerated
334
00:19:47,820 --> 00:19:50,254
under the Rockefeller
Drug Laws are
black and brown
335
00:19:50,256 --> 00:19:51,956
is that's the way
the DA's operate.
336
00:19:51,958 --> 00:19:54,692
NARRATOR: Business mogul
Russell Simmons spent years
337
00:19:54,694 --> 00:19:58,329
lobbying against
the harsh Rockefeller
Drug Laws of New York City,
338
00:19:58,331 --> 00:20:01,966
which treated the non-violent
crime of drug dealing
the same as murder.
339
00:20:01,968 --> 00:20:04,202
I mean,
imagine you're a model.
340
00:20:04,204 --> 00:20:06,437
You know, a fashion model.
You know, like
some blonde girl.
341
00:20:06,439 --> 00:20:08,573
It doesn't matter
where you're from,
you're not going to jail.
342
00:20:08,575 --> 00:20:09,941
And if you're some guy
from the hood,
343
00:20:09,943 --> 00:20:11,943
maybe you'll go
to jail for 20 years.
344
00:20:11,945 --> 00:20:14,612
Hell, they tried
to give me 45 years.
345
00:20:14,614 --> 00:20:18,749
So, I did a lot of time.
I did, like five years,
spring something like that.
346
00:20:18,751 --> 00:20:23,321
And a white drug dealer
will be in middle America,
somewhere in the suburbs.
347
00:20:23,323 --> 00:20:28,960
That isn't in a space where
he can just be searched for no
reason at all or go to jail.
348
00:20:28,962 --> 00:20:32,396
NARRATOR: Curtis Jackson,
Russell Simmons,
and many others
349
00:20:32,398 --> 00:20:34,332
have successfully
persuaded New York
350
00:20:34,334 --> 00:20:37,568
to reduce some of their
harsh sentencing practices.
351
00:20:37,570 --> 00:20:40,271
But 90% of those
convicted on drug charges
352
00:20:40,273 --> 00:20:43,574
are still African-American
and Latino.
353
00:20:43,576 --> 00:20:45,476
Like they say
for any business,
354
00:20:45,478 --> 00:20:49,347
the golden rule,
location, location,
location.
355
00:20:50,983 --> 00:20:53,317
MIKE WALZMAN:
I didn't care if people
knew where I lived.
356
00:20:53,319 --> 00:20:55,786
People would
just come to my house,
and I would go outside
357
00:20:55,788 --> 00:20:58,689
and just give them
the gram, and we would do
the transaction that way.
358
00:20:58,691 --> 00:21:03,461
In 2003, I was the main
coke dealer for all
the private schools in L.A.
359
00:21:03,463 --> 00:21:08,266
If you're gonna be
a private coke dealer,
this is the way to go.
360
00:21:08,268 --> 00:21:09,834
In a nice, suburban
neighborhood,
361
00:21:09,836 --> 00:21:12,837
selling to the largest
cocaine market directly.
362
00:21:12,839 --> 00:21:17,541
and already knew
where to buy cocaine
for him and his friends.
363
00:21:17,543 --> 00:21:20,845
So, he was in a perfect
position to go into
business for himself.
364
00:21:20,847 --> 00:21:23,047
WALZMAN: What's going on
through my head is,
365
00:21:23,049 --> 00:21:25,816
just start selling drugs
to support my habit
366
00:21:25,818 --> 00:21:28,753
and to support
the lifestyle that
I wanted.
367
00:21:28,755 --> 00:21:31,889
People want drugs,
so I can sell drugs.
368
00:21:31,891 --> 00:21:33,791
'Cause I know where
to get it already.
369
00:21:33,793 --> 00:21:36,027
My first rock
was about this big,
370
00:21:36,029 --> 00:21:38,629
and I remember
showing my friends this.
371
00:21:38,631 --> 00:21:43,734
They were like, "No fucking
way you have this big of
a rock with you right now,
372
00:21:43,736 --> 00:21:45,369
"like, this is insane."
373
00:21:45,371 --> 00:21:47,571
(DANCE MUSIC PLAYING)
374
00:21:47,573 --> 00:21:51,842
It was like,
"This is awesome,
this is exciting."
375
00:21:54,446 --> 00:21:58,649
The stories that grew out
of me being a coke dealer
just went from this
376
00:21:58,651 --> 00:22:02,653
to like, you know, this,
and I was suddenly,
you know, the guy...
377
00:22:02,655 --> 00:22:04,622
You know,
that everyone's
talking about,
378
00:22:04,624 --> 00:22:07,792
I threw a party at
the L'Ermitage hotel,
379
00:22:07,794 --> 00:22:09,994
and I got, like,
the Penthouse suite.
380
00:22:09,996 --> 00:22:12,663
I've always wanted
to be loved and accepted.
381
00:22:12,665 --> 00:22:16,000
And that's what
selling coke gave me.
It gave me that power,
382
00:22:16,002 --> 00:22:18,469
it gave me the feeling
of acceptance.
383
00:22:18,471 --> 00:22:21,339
It was definitely addictive
to be a drug dealer.
384
00:22:21,341 --> 00:22:24,575
Not only the money
that you got from it,
385
00:22:24,577 --> 00:22:26,811
but the way people
talked about you,
386
00:22:26,813 --> 00:22:30,948
the way people looked at you,
the power that I felt from it.
387
00:22:30,950 --> 00:22:35,686
I just liked having money.
It gave me security,
it made me feel good.
388
00:22:35,688 --> 00:22:38,422
People don't know
what's a gram,
and what's not a gram,
389
00:22:38,424 --> 00:22:40,091
they've never seen
coke before in their life.
390
00:22:40,093 --> 00:22:43,027
The market rate for a gram
was about $50 for coke,
391
00:22:43,029 --> 00:22:45,096
but if you're a rich girl
who didn't know anything,
392
00:22:45,098 --> 00:22:50,101
I would probably sell you
.5 for about $60 to $75.
393
00:22:50,103 --> 00:22:53,437
NARRATOR: A guy like Mike
makes half as much as
our Detroit dealer,
394
00:22:53,439 --> 00:22:56,741
working half as hard,
but with virtually
none of the risk.
395
00:22:56,743 --> 00:22:59,977
The word got out
that I have coke,
and I'm selling coke.
396
00:22:59,979 --> 00:23:03,080
The dean in the school,
they pulled me in,
397
00:23:03,082 --> 00:23:06,717
and they said, "Hey look,
you know, we're hearing
that you're selling drugs,
398
00:23:06,719 --> 00:23:09,053
"and we want to do
a drug test on you."
399
00:23:09,055 --> 00:23:11,422
So, at that point,
you know, I thought
to myself,
400
00:23:11,424 --> 00:23:15,626
"Well, I better really
slow down on this
and not do it anymore."
401
00:23:15,628 --> 00:23:17,027
NARRATOR:
Mike failed his drug test,
402
00:23:17,029 --> 00:23:20,064
and was kicked out of school,
but never did any hard time.
403
00:23:21,066 --> 00:23:23,601
When dealing small amounts,
the nicer the neighborhood,
404
00:23:23,603 --> 00:23:25,669
the less chance
of getting busted.
405
00:23:25,671 --> 00:23:30,941
it'll still take years
to get that mansion
in the hills you want.
406
00:23:30,943 --> 00:23:33,878
To be a big time player,
you need to get committed.
407
00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:36,013
It's time to start
building a business.
408
00:23:44,723 --> 00:23:47,558
Instead of selling ounces,
I started selling keys.
409
00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:50,728
NARRATOR: A key is
a kilo of cocaine.
410
00:23:50,730 --> 00:23:53,798
A single kilo
can run you
about $20,000.
411
00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:56,033
I had what I believe
was skills.
412
00:23:56,035 --> 00:23:59,870
NARRATOR: This is Skipp.
He did really well
as a corner hustler.
413
00:23:59,872 --> 00:24:04,041
I had the skills to sit
on the wall and make
about $8,000 a day.
414
00:24:04,043 --> 00:24:07,211
NARRATOR: Once you've
stacked up enough money,
you can buy larger quantities
415
00:24:07,213 --> 00:24:11,048
and supply dealers yourself,
which is what Skipp's
gonna teach you to do.
416
00:24:11,050 --> 00:24:15,119
SKIPP: I was 10 or 11
years old, my family life
was dysfunctional.
417
00:24:15,121 --> 00:24:17,922
My mother worked two jobs,
my father wasn't in the home,
418
00:24:17,924 --> 00:24:19,790
so before drugs came
into the community,
419
00:24:19,792 --> 00:24:24,195
lot of people who would hustle
would rob banks
or rob jewelry stores.
420
00:24:24,197 --> 00:24:26,530
The aggression,
the violence
wasn't for me.
421
00:24:26,532 --> 00:24:28,499
NARRATOR:
Skipp was struggling
to make ends meet
422
00:24:28,501 --> 00:24:33,204
in order to protect himself
from the Crips bullying
his neighborhood.
423
00:24:33,206 --> 00:24:36,941
but it was
the relationships
I had with the Crips
424
00:24:36,943 --> 00:24:39,710
that actually
introduced me
to drugs.
425
00:24:39,712 --> 00:24:43,013
I saw them having money,
and I was asking them
what are they doing,
426
00:24:43,015 --> 00:24:46,083
and the more I hung out
with them, I got more into
the culture of drugs.
427
00:24:46,085 --> 00:24:48,152
We used to go to, uh,
different areas
428
00:24:48,154 --> 00:24:50,721
that weren't populated
by the L.A. culture
429
00:24:50,723 --> 00:24:53,090
so they wanted it,
but they didn't have
the connection,
430
00:24:53,092 --> 00:24:55,693
so we would come out
and be that connection.
431
00:24:55,695 --> 00:24:59,129
You'd have to have,
uh, a family contact
or a friend.
432
00:24:59,131 --> 00:25:00,965
I myself went
to Las Vegas.
433
00:25:00,967 --> 00:25:03,767
There are more than
a hundred street gangs
in Los Angeles.
434
00:25:03,769 --> 00:25:06,070
Police now say
they have become
heavily involved
435
00:25:06,072 --> 00:25:09,573
in the drug trade,
exporting their crimes
throughout the west.
436
00:25:09,575 --> 00:25:12,576
Going out of town
when people knew
you were from L.A.,
437
00:25:12,578 --> 00:25:14,879
that number one,
made you a star celebrity.
438
00:25:14,881 --> 00:25:18,282
And then,
if you were the guy
who had the drugs,
439
00:25:18,284 --> 00:25:20,818
it made you an even
bigger celebrity.
440
00:25:20,820 --> 00:25:24,922
Made all the girls love
and want to come to you.
441
00:25:24,924 --> 00:25:27,258
The difficult part
became how to get it
out of town.
442
00:25:29,861 --> 00:25:32,863
I myself would always
buy a bucket.
443
00:25:32,865 --> 00:25:37,568
Put whatever I want
inside of it and go get
a girl who likes me.
444
00:25:37,570 --> 00:25:40,004
Don't tell her
what's in the car,
and let her drive it.
445
00:25:40,006 --> 00:25:41,839
MAN: Did the girls
ever get pulled over?
446
00:25:41,841 --> 00:25:45,075
Nah, I've been
fortunate that
that has never occurred.
447
00:25:45,077 --> 00:25:48,712
Um, however,
they did get pregnant,
and I now have children.
448
00:25:48,714 --> 00:25:50,848
The relationships that
I wanted for a weekend
449
00:25:50,850 --> 00:25:53,317
have lasted longer
than I expected.
450
00:25:53,319 --> 00:25:55,886
NARRATOR:
A lot of smugglers get
someone else to drive.
451
00:25:55,888 --> 00:25:58,022
But how do you keep
track of you driver?
452
00:25:58,024 --> 00:26:01,025
The DEA make a living
chasing drugs across country.
453
00:26:03,328 --> 00:26:07,298
So they can tell you how
the smartest suppliers
keep track of their cargo.
454
00:26:07,300 --> 00:26:14,171
the source of supply
had rigged this car
with a GPS locator
455
00:26:14,173 --> 00:26:17,641
and a phone,
so he could actually
dial into the phone
456
00:26:17,643 --> 00:26:22,179
and he could monitor
if the transaction was
going correctly or not.
457
00:26:22,181 --> 00:26:24,315
He would know
if the vehicle was
out of position.
458
00:26:24,317 --> 00:26:26,784
NARRATOR:
Now, you don't want to put
your drugs in the trunk.
459
00:26:26,786 --> 00:26:29,253
You're going to want
some new options
on your vehicle.
460
00:26:29,255 --> 00:26:33,023
Designing "traps"
is standard practice
for any local chop shop.
461
00:26:35,827 --> 00:26:37,328
It's kind of like
a combination safe.
462
00:26:37,330 --> 00:26:39,830
It has to be a series
of things activated
in the vehicle
463
00:26:39,832 --> 00:26:44,735
Like, they may have to have
the air conditioning on,
the blinker on,
464
00:26:44,737 --> 00:26:48,038
and a couple of other
things within the vehicle
for it to activate.
465
00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:49,807
You got money
to spend, you'll get
a real good trap.
466
00:26:49,809 --> 00:26:52,109
We've seen
some sloppy ones,
this is good work.
467
00:26:52,111 --> 00:26:54,778
When they're closed,
you would never know by
looking at it with your eye
468
00:26:54,780 --> 00:26:58,816
so whoever
constructed this one
was a professional.
469
00:26:58,818 --> 00:27:01,352
It goes the whole length
of the back seat area.
470
00:27:01,354 --> 00:27:04,288
So you could fit
probably in excess
of 10 kilograms
471
00:27:04,290 --> 00:27:07,725
of, uh, narcotics,
large amounts
of currency or weapons.
472
00:27:07,727 --> 00:27:10,728
NARRATOR:
Now you're ready.
But before you hit the road,
473
00:27:10,730 --> 00:27:13,864
Pepe has some tips from
back in the day when
he was running cocaine.
474
00:27:16,835 --> 00:27:18,836
Get up in the morning,
you be ready.
475
00:27:18,838 --> 00:27:21,805
Check your car,
no lights broke.
476
00:27:21,807 --> 00:27:25,242
Insure your car,
everything.
477
00:27:25,244 --> 00:27:27,811
Even the speed limit.
478
00:27:27,813 --> 00:27:30,414
25? 25. No more.
479
00:27:30,416 --> 00:27:32,416
75? 75.
You know?
480
00:27:32,418 --> 00:27:34,952
15, school? 15, school.
481
00:27:34,954 --> 00:27:36,720
Take it easy.
482
00:27:36,722 --> 00:27:37,755
(LAUGHS)
483
00:27:37,757 --> 00:27:41,025
And you get there.
You be there.
484
00:27:41,027 --> 00:27:43,360
NARRATOR:
So how much does
a smuggler expect to make?
485
00:27:43,362 --> 00:27:48,265
If they take 10 kilos,
they give me $4,000
just to smuggle it,
486
00:27:48,267 --> 00:27:52,936
or if it was more?
5,000. It all depends.
487
00:27:54,172 --> 00:27:57,007
NARRATOR:
So you've driven a few
kilos across country,
488
00:27:57,009 --> 00:28:00,411
you might be making
mid six figures a year.
489
00:28:00,413 --> 00:28:05,783
Once you're in the game,
you realize just how
many people want drugs.
490
00:28:05,785 --> 00:28:09,987
There's everybody from
the Wall Street types
to the people on the streets,
491
00:28:09,989 --> 00:28:13,424
to kids going
to concerts, the stoners.
492
00:28:13,426 --> 00:28:15,259
Everybody wanted cocaine.
493
00:28:15,261 --> 00:28:17,761
NARRATOR:
What domestic smugglers
make in a month,
494
00:28:17,763 --> 00:28:20,230
Bobby Carlton would
eventually make in a day.
495
00:28:26,171 --> 00:28:29,473
In the 70s,
all the cocaine was coming
in through South Florida,
496
00:28:29,475 --> 00:28:35,913
and uh, back then
they used to call it
the South Florida shuffle.
497
00:28:35,915 --> 00:28:39,883
Everybody and anybody
was selling drugs,
running drugs, moving drugs.
498
00:28:39,885 --> 00:28:44,021
They were coming in,
and they were going
everywhere.
499
00:28:44,023 --> 00:28:47,825
MALE BROADCASTER:
The posses buy cocaine
for about $5,000 a kilo.
500
00:28:47,827 --> 00:28:50,394
The drugs are then
brought here to Miami,
where they're divided up
501
00:28:50,396 --> 00:28:53,197
and shipped all over
the United States.
502
00:28:53,199 --> 00:28:57,935
The initial
$5,000 investment
is worth $125,000.
503
00:28:57,937 --> 00:29:01,171
CARLTON: A girl that we had
known, me and some friends,
we had gone over
504
00:29:01,173 --> 00:29:06,977
to her house for a party,
and I went with her into her
garage, and I was shocked.
505
00:29:06,979 --> 00:29:11,148
There was boxes
and boxes of cash just
all over the garage,
506
00:29:11,150 --> 00:29:13,150
and it was just
packed with money.
507
00:29:13,152 --> 00:29:16,420
I just looked at her
and I said, "Look I don't care
what you're into,
508
00:29:16,422 --> 00:29:18,922
"or how you do it,
I want in."
509
00:29:18,924 --> 00:29:21,024
And she introduced
me to somebody,
510
00:29:21,026 --> 00:29:23,293
and, uh, that somebody
put me on a boat.
511
00:29:29,968 --> 00:29:32,836
The way it works
is their drop-off
point is Bimini.
512
00:29:32,838 --> 00:29:35,806
Bimini's literally
like 70 miles off
the coast of Florida.
513
00:29:35,808 --> 00:29:37,508
You can go to Bimini,
load up,
514
00:29:37,510 --> 00:29:41,979
"Go fast boats"
are called go fast boats
for a reason.
515
00:29:41,981 --> 00:29:45,349
These, like, Colombian
cats hedge their bets.
516
00:29:45,351 --> 00:29:49,153
What they do is they
send about 15 to 20
of them at a time.
517
00:29:49,155 --> 00:29:54,992
the odds of getting
arrested are very slim,
the money's very good.
518
00:29:54,994 --> 00:29:58,061
You get into Fort Lauderdale
or you get into Miami,
519
00:29:58,063 --> 00:30:02,866
and uh, you drop a boat off,
and you get a bunch
of cash and that was it.
520
00:30:02,868 --> 00:30:06,503
When you're 18 years old
and you come from
a very poor family,
521
00:30:06,505 --> 00:30:09,439
like stuff's just not
happening for you,
that's a lot of money.
522
00:30:17,115 --> 00:30:20,818
NARRATOR:
Fifty grand a day
would satisfy most people.
523
00:30:20,820 --> 00:30:23,153
But not Brian O'Dea.
524
00:30:23,155 --> 00:30:28,425
Brian was one of
the most notorious drug
smugglers in the world.
525
00:30:28,427 --> 00:30:34,031
He and his 120 employees
would take in over
$100 million a year.
526
00:30:34,033 --> 00:30:36,567
Brian's going to show you
how a college dropout
527
00:30:36,569 --> 00:30:40,904
can become
the CEO of a major
import-export business.
528
00:30:40,906 --> 00:30:43,407
I sent two pounds of hash
to myself from England.
529
00:30:43,409 --> 00:30:46,844
I got 19 months for that,
and went to prison.
530
00:30:46,846 --> 00:30:51,315
When I got out of prison,
I had no money
and nothing going on.
531
00:30:51,317 --> 00:30:53,350
So, I thought,
maybe I can kick start
532
00:30:53,352 --> 00:30:56,587
my getting back
into the world
with a little coke.
533
00:30:56,589 --> 00:31:00,557
I had $500 in my pocket,
and an address.
534
00:31:00,559 --> 00:31:03,460
Couldn't speak a word
of Spanish, but figured
I could figure it out,
535
00:31:03,462 --> 00:31:04,995
so I took off
to Colombia,
536
00:31:06,464 --> 00:31:10,067
and I said,
"Do you know, uh, Benny?"
537
00:31:10,069 --> 00:31:12,469
Showing him my card
with Benny's name on it.
538
00:31:12,471 --> 00:31:15,873
I won't say
his last name right now.
I might get myself shot.
539
00:31:15,875 --> 00:31:18,208
So the guy, he said,
"What do you want?"
540
00:31:18,210 --> 00:31:19,476
I went like that,
541
00:31:19,478 --> 00:31:22,045
and I said
"Well, I got
$500 with me."
542
00:31:22,047 --> 00:31:24,948
And, you know,
everybody started
crying laughing, right.
543
00:31:24,950 --> 00:31:27,084
I told him I just
got out of prison,
544
00:31:27,086 --> 00:31:30,487
I got my hands on...
That's all I could
get my hands on,
545
00:31:30,489 --> 00:31:32,556
and I'm just trying
to get a life started.
546
00:31:32,558 --> 00:31:35,225
So he said,
"Senor, muchos huevos."
547
00:31:35,227 --> 00:31:37,160
He thought I had
a lot of balls.
548
00:31:37,162 --> 00:31:39,429
He said, "I'm gonna get
you 50 grams of coke.
549
00:31:39,431 --> 00:31:42,399
"You can
cut it in half 'cause
I'll give it to you pure.
550
00:31:42,401 --> 00:31:45,269
"You should be able
to get about 10 grand
out of that back there
551
00:31:45,271 --> 00:31:46,370
"if you sell it in grams."
552
00:31:46,372 --> 00:31:48,238
I don't know where
I came up with this,
553
00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:50,908
but I got a pin,
and I heated it
with a lighter,
554
00:31:50,910 --> 00:31:54,177
and you can put
a hot pin under
this cellophane here,
555
00:31:54,179 --> 00:31:56,346
and that will pop open.
556
00:31:56,348 --> 00:31:59,349
So, then you can
slide the cigarettes
right out of the pack
557
00:31:59,351 --> 00:32:01,184
without breaking the seal.
558
00:32:01,186 --> 00:32:05,422
The 50 grams of coke
fit into this pack
559
00:32:05,424 --> 00:32:08,292
like it was made
to fit into that pack.
560
00:32:08,294 --> 00:32:11,295
I thought,
"Ah, this is brilliant!"
561
00:32:11,297 --> 00:32:13,630
I put the cigarettes
with the coke in it
in my pocket
562
00:32:13,632 --> 00:32:15,265
with the pack
I was smoking.
563
00:32:15,267 --> 00:32:18,268
Leaving Colombia,
you have to go
through immigration.
564
00:32:18,270 --> 00:32:21,271
There's no just going
and getting on the plane.
565
00:32:21,273 --> 00:32:26,109
So, I'm going through
immigration, there are
two guys there, and they go...
566
00:32:26,111 --> 00:32:29,947
"On behalf of
the Unites States Government,
we're checking all people
567
00:32:29,949 --> 00:32:33,317
"who fit a profile,
who seem to be
involved with drugs..."
568
00:32:33,319 --> 00:32:37,654
I said, "Are you kidding me?
I'm a reporter!
I'm a journalist!"
569
00:32:37,656 --> 00:32:43,460
But they said,
"We still have to take
your clothes off, please,
570
00:32:43,462 --> 00:32:45,162
"and get your suitcases
off the plane."
571
00:32:45,164 --> 00:32:48,298
I'm going, "No!
I'm not taking my..."
572
00:32:48,300 --> 00:32:51,034
"Sir, there's nothing
we can do about it.
You have to."
573
00:32:51,036 --> 00:32:53,036
I take my pants off,
still have my jacket on.
574
00:32:53,038 --> 00:32:56,473
I pass them my pants,
cursing and swearing,
and my socks,
575
00:32:56,475 --> 00:32:59,409
and I reach my hand
into my jacket pocket.
576
00:32:59,411 --> 00:33:02,646
I put the cigarettes
I was holding the coke in
on the bottom
577
00:33:02,648 --> 00:33:05,349
and the cigarettes I was
smoking on the top,
and I flipped it open,
578
00:33:05,351 --> 00:33:08,318
the one I was smoking,
pulled out a cigarette
and lit it.
579
00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:10,454
Offered them a cigarette,
which they each took.
580
00:33:10,456 --> 00:33:13,457
I mean, these guys
are making 30 bucks
a month, we can't forget.
581
00:33:13,459 --> 00:33:16,159
I'm lighting their cigarettes,
and I take my jacket off
582
00:33:16,161 --> 00:33:17,995
and hand it to them,
and my shirt,
583
00:33:17,997 --> 00:33:22,532
holding the cigarettes
and the coke in my hand
the entire time.
584
00:33:22,534 --> 00:33:28,338
The moment they handed me back
a piece of clothing that had
a pocket in it, shwamp!
585
00:33:28,340 --> 00:33:31,608
I immediately stuffed
the coke back in the pocket.
586
00:33:31,610 --> 00:33:36,179
And that's how I got
in the coke business.
587
00:33:36,181 --> 00:33:39,750
NARRATOR:
After that, Brian O'Dea
was in business.
588
00:33:42,220 --> 00:33:47,491
He got a small amount of coke,
and he dissolved it in water,
and then poured in material.
589
00:33:47,493 --> 00:33:51,661
What we used were ponchos,
or ruanas as they're called
in Colombia.
590
00:33:51,663 --> 00:33:55,198
So, here we now had this piece
of material that had a couple
of grams of coke in it,
591
00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:58,435
and then I just folded up
those ponchos buddy,
put them in my suitcase,
592
00:33:58,437 --> 00:34:01,671
and headed on
a direct flight
to L.A. from Bogota.
593
00:34:01,673 --> 00:34:07,110
You just soak it in
the water, and then evaporate
the water off. Simple.
594
00:34:07,112 --> 00:34:10,247
Of course, methanol is
what you should be doing it
with, and not water,
595
00:34:10,249 --> 00:34:12,749
'cause methanol
evaporates off at
room temperature.
596
00:34:12,751 --> 00:34:15,352
Water, you got
to wait forever for
the shit to evaporate,
597
00:34:15,354 --> 00:34:17,187
which is, you know...
It's a learning process.
598
00:34:22,460 --> 00:34:25,529
JOE GILBRIDGE:
If these individuals were
putting their expertise
599
00:34:25,531 --> 00:34:27,197
towards a legitimate goal,
600
00:34:27,199 --> 00:34:30,467
could probably be very
wealthy as entrepreneurs.
601
00:34:30,469 --> 00:34:34,271
We have seized drugs
in prosthetic legs,
602
00:34:34,273 --> 00:34:38,341
heroin in kidney beans,
in the back of paintings.
603
00:34:43,114 --> 00:34:48,685
Individuals swallow condoms
filled with heroin.
Heroin pellets, we call them.
604
00:34:48,687 --> 00:34:51,555
Once that condom
breaks open or that
balloon breaks open,
605
00:34:51,557 --> 00:34:55,659
there's not much anyone's
going to be able
to do to save your life.
606
00:34:57,829 --> 00:35:00,797
NARRATOR:
A million dollars in a few
months is a lot of money.
607
00:35:00,799 --> 00:35:03,467
But how would you
like to make that
in a few days?
608
00:35:03,469 --> 00:35:06,336
Everyone dreams
of climbing to the top
of the game one day.
609
00:35:06,338 --> 00:35:11,108
Some people can play
baseball, basketball,
or sing, or dance.
610
00:35:11,110 --> 00:35:12,375
(SINGING)
611
00:35:14,545 --> 00:35:18,248
With some of the icons
being millionaires
from selling drugs,
612
00:35:18,250 --> 00:35:20,517
of course, I wanted...
I didn't want to be
like Mike.
613
00:35:20,519 --> 00:35:22,519
I didn't want to be
like Michael Jordan
or Magic Johnson,
614
00:35:22,521 --> 00:35:23,687
I wanted to be like...
615
00:35:23,689 --> 00:35:25,122
I wanted to be
like Freeway Rick!
616
00:35:26,190 --> 00:35:28,592
My name is
Freeway Rick Ross.
617
00:35:28,594 --> 00:35:31,495
My claim to fame
is being a drug kingpin.
618
00:35:36,200 --> 00:35:38,602
At that time,
I never did drugs,
I had never smoked weed.
619
00:35:38,604 --> 00:35:42,339
I was going to a junior
college playing tennis when
my car was broken down.
620
00:35:42,341 --> 00:35:44,207
I was in financial
ruins at the time.
621
00:35:44,209 --> 00:35:45,375
I needed some money.
622
00:35:45,377 --> 00:35:47,611
MAN: Narcotics is
a thing of the future.
623
00:35:47,613 --> 00:35:49,379
If we don't get
a piece of that action,
624
00:35:49,381 --> 00:35:52,816
we risk everything we have.
I mean, not now,
but 10 years from now.
625
00:35:52,818 --> 00:35:55,152
When they put
those movies out,
that made us curious.
626
00:35:55,154 --> 00:35:56,887
I mean it was almost like
being a movie star.
627
00:35:56,889 --> 00:35:59,189
You know,
how people wished
to be movie stars.
628
00:35:59,191 --> 00:36:00,924
That was the way I felt
about cocaine.
629
00:36:00,926 --> 00:36:02,926
(SNIFFING)
630
00:36:02,928 --> 00:36:07,831
We went to the movie,
it might have been
15 or 20 of us.
631
00:36:10,568 --> 00:36:12,202
And we were all curious.
632
00:36:12,204 --> 00:36:14,804
Most of the older people
were saying, you know,
that, uh...
633
00:36:14,806 --> 00:36:17,507
"You can't make
any money in South Central
off of cocaine."
634
00:36:17,509 --> 00:36:21,244
What I found out is that
the PCP dealers made
so much money for PCP,
635
00:36:21,246 --> 00:36:23,647
they had the money,
and they became
my first customers.
636
00:36:25,249 --> 00:36:27,651
We just kept escalating
and escalating
637
00:36:27,653 --> 00:36:31,321
until my mom found out
and put me out the house.
638
00:36:31,323 --> 00:36:35,225
I was ghetto-rich at that time
so I had plenty of places
that I could move.
639
00:36:35,227 --> 00:36:38,562
NARRATOR: The trick
to becoming a kingpin in
any industry is innovation.
640
00:36:38,564 --> 00:36:41,531
Freeway Rick introduced
crack to the West Coast.
641
00:36:41,533 --> 00:36:44,734
When people snort cocaine,
they snort so much
their nose start bleeding.
642
00:36:44,736 --> 00:36:47,404
So, they needed
another way to get it
into their systems.
643
00:36:47,406 --> 00:36:48,838
People would come by
early in the morning,
644
00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:51,908
you know,
like, doctors and nurses
and truck drivers.
645
00:36:51,910 --> 00:36:54,477
They want to get some,
and they want to smoke it.
646
00:36:54,479 --> 00:36:58,481
They started saying
stuff like, "Man, I wish it
was ready to go already."
647
00:36:58,483 --> 00:37:01,785
So we got hip,
and we started
cooking it up for them,
648
00:37:01,787 --> 00:37:05,956
so we would have
the powder here
and the Ready Rock here.
649
00:37:05,958 --> 00:37:09,426
Eventually, everybody started
wanting it, uh, Ready Rocked.
650
00:37:10,561 --> 00:37:13,663
For one minute,
it was like,
in South Central,
651
00:37:13,665 --> 00:37:17,500
then it moved to Inglewood,
then it moved to West L.A.
652
00:37:17,502 --> 00:37:20,604
Then it moved to Compton,
then it moved to Watts,
653
00:37:20,606 --> 00:37:22,572
it's like a virus.
654
00:37:22,574 --> 00:37:25,675
Pretty much every day
I could do a million
dollars' worth of drugs.
655
00:37:25,677 --> 00:37:28,845
There was days
that I would go to two
and three million dollars.
656
00:37:32,316 --> 00:37:33,883
I gave a lot of
money away.
657
00:37:33,885 --> 00:37:36,586
I mean, that's part of,
you know, being successful,
658
00:37:36,588 --> 00:37:38,855
so that you can
help your family
and friends, you know.
659
00:37:38,857 --> 00:37:40,724
Somebody would
come up to your house
when it was due,
660
00:37:40,726 --> 00:37:44,327
car notes, light bills,
you know, friends in jail.
661
00:37:44,329 --> 00:37:46,763
So much stuff...
You know, just give
to kids on the street.
662
00:37:46,765 --> 00:37:49,933
I mean, it's a good feeling
when you can help
somebody else, you know.
663
00:37:49,935 --> 00:37:52,369
One of the best feelings
that you can have, so...
664
00:37:52,371 --> 00:37:57,507
I probably used to take
about $40,000 a day around
with me just to give out.
665
00:37:57,509 --> 00:38:00,543
You know, 'cause
people be coming up to me
all day, anyway, to see me.
666
00:38:00,545 --> 00:38:03,280
So, you know,
you got to give it to them
if you see them.
667
00:38:03,282 --> 00:38:05,715
NARRATOR:
When you're a kingpin,
word travels fast.
668
00:38:05,717 --> 00:38:08,451
Like Pablo Escobar was
to many Colombians.
669
00:38:08,453 --> 00:38:10,487
For communities with
struggling economies,
670
00:38:10,489 --> 00:38:14,724
you are a primary job creator,
community leader, godfather,
671
00:38:14,726 --> 00:38:17,694
bank and charitable
organization.
672
00:38:17,696 --> 00:38:22,532
You know, if I was in trouble,
I would want somebody
to give me a helping hand.
673
00:38:27,371 --> 00:38:30,040
NARRATOR:
When you're this high profile,
there's enormous pressure
674
00:38:30,042 --> 00:38:32,542
on law enforcement
to make a bust.
675
00:38:32,544 --> 00:38:34,444
And if your
operation is tight,
676
00:38:34,446 --> 00:38:36,546
collecting evidence
can be nearly impossible.
677
00:38:36,548 --> 00:38:40,550
TV REPORTER: That's when
Meltin puts a bag of marijuana
into Ferral's pocket.
678
00:38:40,552 --> 00:38:42,919
(OFFICER SPEAKING
INDISTINCTLY)
679
00:38:49,060 --> 00:38:52,062
California Judge Jim Gray
can explain their thinking.
680
00:38:52,064 --> 00:38:55,665
"I know this fellow may
have been involved
with drugs before,
681
00:38:55,667 --> 00:38:57,701
"so I'll plant some
on him now.
682
00:38:57,703 --> 00:39:00,337
"So, he's good for it
from before,
maybe not this time,
683
00:39:00,339 --> 00:39:05,108
And then, they actually
go to court and they
involve themselves
684
00:39:05,110 --> 00:39:07,510
in what they call
"testal lying."
685
00:39:07,512 --> 00:39:09,546
NARRATOR:
And that's how they
busted Freeway Rick.
686
00:39:09,548 --> 00:39:12,916
The cops on my case
had planted drugs on me.
687
00:39:12,918 --> 00:39:14,617
I pled guilty to 10 years.
688
00:39:22,660 --> 00:39:25,028
NARRATOR: So, knowing
the cops are going
to arrest you at some point
689
00:39:25,030 --> 00:39:28,498
no matter how good you are,
what can you do?
690
00:39:28,500 --> 00:39:32,102
The first thing you need
to understand is how
drug cases work.
691
00:39:32,104 --> 00:39:35,705
Drug cases are
prosecuted unlike
any other criminal case.
692
00:39:35,707 --> 00:39:37,807
Here's a cop and
a lawyer to explain how.
693
00:39:37,809 --> 00:39:42,679
HOWARD WOOLDRIDGE:
It's impossible for the police
to have a normal procedure
694
00:39:42,681 --> 00:39:45,115
in a crime where
nobody wants to report it.
695
00:39:45,117 --> 00:39:50,487
Nobody calls 911
when they use a drug,
buy a drug, or sell a drug.
696
00:39:50,489 --> 00:39:53,990
In traditional
law enforcement,
a crime gets committed,
697
00:39:53,992 --> 00:39:57,427
police try to find
who committed the crime.
698
00:39:57,429 --> 00:39:59,729
This is the way
drug enforcement works,
699
00:39:59,731 --> 00:40:07,103
you look for a suspect,
and then you try to trick them
into committing the crime...
700
00:40:07,105 --> 00:40:09,139
For you!
701
00:40:09,141 --> 00:40:10,740
It's backwards.
702
00:40:10,742 --> 00:40:12,475
So the government
goes around sort of saying,
703
00:40:12,477 --> 00:40:14,411
"Let's find suspect,
who should be a...
704
00:40:14,413 --> 00:40:16,646
"Well, let's try
to set some fucker up."
705
00:40:18,482 --> 00:40:20,717
NARRATOR: Here we are,
observing the DEA,
706
00:40:20,719 --> 00:40:23,086
who've arranged to buy
drugs from a suspect.
707
00:40:23,088 --> 00:40:25,488
He's the guy
on the right with
the baseball cap.
708
00:40:25,490 --> 00:40:31,428
He's completely surrounded
by law enforcement,
and has no idea.
709
00:40:32,963 --> 00:40:34,798
(INDISTINCT TALKING
OVER RADIO)
710
00:40:39,737 --> 00:40:42,839
Just chill, just chill.
Got any weapons on you?
Anything on you?
711
00:40:42,841 --> 00:40:45,542
Nothing? No guns,
no knives, no drugs?
712
00:40:45,544 --> 00:40:47,644
All right. But just
to protect, do you have
anything on you,
713
00:40:47,646 --> 00:40:55,185
NARRATOR: The reality is that
the cops don't really care
too much about this one guy.
714
00:40:55,187 --> 00:40:58,788
Their objective is
to just use him
to cuff more dealers.
715
00:40:58,790 --> 00:41:00,657
MAN: We'll lock up
this middle man,
716
00:41:00,659 --> 00:41:03,760
hopefully, this middle man
will cooperate and get us
the distributor,
717
00:41:03,762 --> 00:41:05,662
and we'll just go
up the ladder
718
00:41:05,664 --> 00:41:06,863
and keep going up
the food chain.
719
00:41:06,865 --> 00:41:08,731
It's very intimidating
and overwhelming.
720
00:41:08,733 --> 00:41:11,234
I'm gonna say to you,
you know, you got
a lot to lose,
721
00:41:11,236 --> 00:41:12,669
you're looking
at a lot of time.
722
00:41:12,671 --> 00:41:13,937
I mean, even if...
Even if you're not,
723
00:41:13,939 --> 00:41:15,738
you're gonna try
to sell him
that he's going.
724
00:41:15,740 --> 00:41:17,540
You know,
you're going to jail
for a long time.
725
00:41:17,542 --> 00:41:19,509
If they don't know,
they may give it up.
726
00:41:19,511 --> 00:41:21,911
FRANKLIN:
You either go to jail,
you get a record.
727
00:41:21,913 --> 00:41:25,515
From there, you have
trouble getting a job,
can't support your family.
728
00:41:25,517 --> 00:41:28,685
Or in the other hand,
you become
an informant for us,
729
00:41:28,687 --> 00:41:31,187
and we'll let you
off the charge.
730
00:41:31,189 --> 00:41:34,757
NARRATOR: This exact scenario
is what gets most dealers
into trouble.
731
00:41:34,759 --> 00:41:37,827
One of your employees
or customers
gets picked up by cops
732
00:41:37,829 --> 00:41:39,195
and turned into
a snitch.
733
00:41:39,197 --> 00:41:41,698
Yes, this was
a situation in Vegas
734
00:41:41,700 --> 00:41:44,267
where there was a guy,
he started using drugs
735
00:41:44,269 --> 00:41:47,704
and Las Vegas Police
somehow got a hold of him.
736
00:41:47,706 --> 00:41:51,241
MALE NEWS REPORTER:
Eighteen-year-old
Clifford Townson
737
00:41:51,243 --> 00:41:53,643
denies he belongs
to any gang,
738
00:41:53,645 --> 00:41:57,113
but admits he traveled
from Los Angeles here
to Las Vegas.
739
00:41:57,115 --> 00:41:59,249
He has been arrested
for selling cocaine,
740
00:41:59,251 --> 00:42:01,584
and police suspect
he is a gang leader.
741
00:42:01,586 --> 00:42:04,053
They actually put it
in the newspaper,
and on TV.
742
00:42:04,055 --> 00:42:06,256
We were celebrities,
we were the L.A. guys
743
00:42:06,258 --> 00:42:08,124
who had
all the drugs, so...
744
00:42:08,126 --> 00:42:10,026
Well, we were
looking at 55 years.
745
00:42:10,028 --> 00:42:11,628
NARRATOR: Skipp
was offered a deal.
746
00:42:11,630 --> 00:42:13,096
If he would plead guilty,
747
00:42:13,098 --> 00:42:15,765
and save the prosecutors
the trouble of going to trial.
748
00:42:15,767 --> 00:42:20,870
The offer came
that it would be five years
as opposed to 55 years.
749
00:42:20,872 --> 00:42:22,906
Um, I signed up for it.
750
00:42:22,908 --> 00:42:24,741
NARRATOR:
And what happened
to the snitch?
751
00:42:24,743 --> 00:42:26,676
He didn't get
any time at all.
752
00:42:26,678 --> 00:42:29,879
Matter of fact, he was
let go, they might have
even paid him, I'm sure.
753
00:42:29,881 --> 00:42:32,916
Federal drug money
is allocated to states
754
00:42:32,918 --> 00:42:36,819
based on
drug arrest numbers.
755
00:42:36,821 --> 00:42:40,123
NARRATOR:
Alexandra Natapoff
is an award winning scholar
756
00:42:40,125 --> 00:42:43,293
and nationally
recognized expert
on snitching.
757
00:42:43,295 --> 00:42:45,828
Snitches are very good
at producing arrests.
758
00:42:45,830 --> 00:42:48,765
They may not be
very good at solving
important crimes,
759
00:42:48,767 --> 00:42:52,235
or getting drugs
off the street,
or making communities safer,
760
00:42:52,237 --> 00:42:55,038
but they are very good
at producing arrest numbers.
761
00:42:55,040 --> 00:42:58,841
I was standing
on the side of
18, 12 officers.
762
00:42:58,843 --> 00:43:02,779
Everybody pack
a big gun.
You hear me?
763
00:43:02,781 --> 00:43:05,982
And they,
they are police.
They can shoot you.
764
00:43:05,984 --> 00:43:12,055
NARRATOR:
Meet Derek Migras,
a Texas crack addict
765
00:43:12,057 --> 00:43:16,359
who police demanded
give them 20 drug dealers
in a local housing project.
766
00:43:16,361 --> 00:43:19,162
OFFICER: Mr. Pascal
told you if you got
incarcerated,
767
00:43:19,164 --> 00:43:20,930
bad things can happen
in prison, right?
768
00:43:20,932 --> 00:43:24,067
No, he told me
that he would
make a phone call,
769
00:43:24,069 --> 00:43:28,671
and have the biggest dick
son-of-a-bitch,
excuse my words, y'all,
770
00:43:28,673 --> 00:43:30,707
females, but these
is his exact words.
771
00:43:30,709 --> 00:43:34,677
"I have the biggest dick
son-of-a-bitch in there
fuck you every day."
772
00:43:34,679 --> 00:43:36,813
So what you gonna do
if you was in my shoes?
773
00:43:36,815 --> 00:43:38,314
Cooperate and say
what they want you to...
774
00:43:38,316 --> 00:43:41,851
NARRATOR: So Derek
gave the police
a list of names.
775
00:43:41,853 --> 00:43:44,087
And 28 people
were arrested.
776
00:43:44,089 --> 00:43:48,691
Most snitches in the arena
of street and drug crime
will never have a lawyer.
777
00:43:48,693 --> 00:43:50,960
They'll never talk to anyone
about their rights,
778
00:43:50,962 --> 00:43:53,329
about the nature of the case
that the government
has against them.
779
00:43:53,331 --> 00:43:55,798
They'll negotiate
with the police officer
right there on the street
780
00:43:55,800 --> 00:43:57,634
or maybe
in the back
of the police car.
781
00:43:57,636 --> 00:43:59,102
All right, let me
tell you like this here.
782
00:43:59,104 --> 00:44:02,705
I never bought drugs
from Regina Kelly.
Straight up.
783
00:44:02,707 --> 00:44:05,375
NARRATOR: It turns out
that all the names
were fabricated.
784
00:44:05,377 --> 00:44:08,711
But cases like this
happen all the time.
785
00:44:08,713 --> 00:44:10,313
There's another reason
Derek Migras
786
00:44:10,315 --> 00:44:12,782
gave a list
of innocent people
to the cops.
787
00:44:12,784 --> 00:44:14,684
Because snitching
on a real drug dealer
788
00:44:14,686 --> 00:44:16,886
can have very
serious consequences.
789
00:44:16,888 --> 00:44:20,089
Rachel Hoffman
was a young woman
in Tallahassee, Florida.
790
00:44:20,091 --> 00:44:21,424
She was
a college graduate,
791
00:44:21,426 --> 00:44:23,126
she had a bright future
ahead of her.
792
00:44:23,128 --> 00:44:24,727
But she was caught
by the police
793
00:44:24,729 --> 00:44:26,229
with a small amount
of marijuana
794
00:44:26,231 --> 00:44:27,997
and some
non-prescription pills,
795
00:44:27,999 --> 00:44:29,298
and the police
threatened her.
796
00:44:29,300 --> 00:44:31,100
They told her
that she could
work it off.
797
00:44:31,102 --> 00:44:33,369
She could do
an undercover drug buy.
798
00:44:33,371 --> 00:44:36,873
She was supposed to buy
15,000 ecstasy tablets,
799
00:44:36,875 --> 00:44:39,776
50 grams of cocaine,
and two handguns.
800
00:44:39,778 --> 00:44:43,046
She said,
"Mom I don't want you
telling anybody,
801
00:44:43,048 --> 00:44:45,848
"'cause I'm getting
all my charges dropped."
802
00:44:45,850 --> 00:44:48,151
NARRATOR:
Rachel called her father
just hours
803
00:44:48,153 --> 00:44:50,420
before the sting operation
was to begin.
804
00:44:50,422 --> 00:44:53,823
She said,
"Dad, I'm really thinking
about you today."
805
00:44:54,958 --> 00:44:57,427
And that was my last
conversation with her.
806
00:44:57,429 --> 00:45:01,698
LAWYER: The people that she
was set up to meet knew
that something was fishy,
807
00:45:01,700 --> 00:45:03,199
and so they shot her.
808
00:45:03,201 --> 00:45:04,801
And at the end
of the day,
809
00:45:04,803 --> 00:45:06,736
when the police
were confronted
810
00:45:06,738 --> 00:45:09,138
with whether they had made
the right decision
811
00:45:09,140 --> 00:45:12,842
to send in a 22-year-old
college girl to make
this kind of drug deal,
812
00:45:12,844 --> 00:45:14,177
do you know
what they said?
813
00:45:14,179 --> 00:45:16,446
They said,
"Well, she didn't
follow protocol."
814
00:45:16,448 --> 00:45:19,148
Now, see that's where
everybody feels we're
looking to blame someone...
815
00:45:19,150 --> 00:45:21,451
But I asked you what happened,
you said, "She deviated
from the plan."
816
00:45:21,453 --> 00:45:23,453
Well,
and that's where, uh...
817
00:45:23,455 --> 00:45:27,156
Whenever the plan
started going, um, south,
if you want to say,
818
00:45:27,158 --> 00:45:30,059
uh, where we lost
contact with Rachel
819
00:45:30,061 --> 00:45:33,796
because she did not show up
at the location she was
supposed to have gone to.
820
00:45:33,798 --> 00:45:37,967
You don't think
she was pushed into it,
coerced by your officers?
821
00:45:37,969 --> 00:45:39,836
Threatened with prison?
822
00:45:39,838 --> 00:45:41,804
For charges
that were never filed?
823
00:45:43,140 --> 00:45:46,442
Again, we don't threaten
people to become
confidential informants.
824
00:45:46,444 --> 00:45:49,312
That's not part
of how we operate.
No, sir.
825
00:45:50,481 --> 00:45:52,815
NARRATOR:
The moral of the story
for most dealers is
826
00:45:52,817 --> 00:45:56,085
But if you do,
name innocent people,
827
00:45:56,087 --> 00:45:58,387
or demand a witness
protection program.
828
00:45:59,858 --> 00:46:03,292
is having a few counter
surveillance guys
on your payroll.
829
00:46:05,096 --> 00:46:09,499
you run an investigation
on the cops following you,
830
00:46:09,501 --> 00:46:14,237
so when cops break the law,
you've got it on tape,
and can negotiate a deal.
831
00:46:14,239 --> 00:46:17,940
I went in and told them
they planted drugs on me,
832
00:46:17,942 --> 00:46:20,209
that I didn't have drugs
that particular night.
833
00:46:20,211 --> 00:46:23,079
That I was a drug dealer,
but that night,
I didn't have drugs.
834
00:46:23,081 --> 00:46:27,917
What these cops were doing
were going around and doing
this to a lot of people.
835
00:46:27,919 --> 00:46:30,920
They wind up getting indicted,
and when they got indicted,
836
00:46:30,922 --> 00:46:34,524
I agreed to cooperate
against the cops for
what they had did to me.
837
00:46:34,526 --> 00:46:39,262
NARRATOR: And that's how
the King of Crack spent
only five years in prison.
838
00:46:39,264 --> 00:46:41,197
(HIP HOP BEAT PLAYING)
839
00:46:51,408 --> 00:46:56,012
It's a great idea
to get an ex-DEA officer
on your team as well.
840
00:46:56,014 --> 00:46:59,315
When you're moving
tons of illegal cargo,
like Brian O'Dea was,
841
00:46:59,317 --> 00:47:00,950
you can never
be too careful.
842
00:47:00,952 --> 00:47:04,387
We all agreed
that we would move
this thing forward,
843
00:47:04,389 --> 00:47:06,322
that everybody would
go on a salary,
844
00:47:06,324 --> 00:47:09,158
and the deal was no coke.
If you did coke you were out.
845
00:47:09,160 --> 00:47:11,828
NARRATOR:
The problem was,
Brian loved cocaine.
846
00:47:11,830 --> 00:47:14,497
He loved all drugs,
ever since he was a kid.
847
00:47:14,499 --> 00:47:18,568
BRIAN O'DEA: I can tell you
about the first day at school,
first period, first class.
848
00:47:18,570 --> 00:47:20,303
Around the corner
came this guy,
849
00:47:20,305 --> 00:47:24,440
He took me to his office,
and half an hour later,
850
00:47:24,442 --> 00:47:28,578
I suffered
the first sexual abuse
by an adult in my life.
851
00:47:28,580 --> 00:47:32,582
As a Catholic, we were
taught sex was punishable
by eternity in hell.
852
00:47:32,584 --> 00:47:38,955
So I came out of that office
negotiating with God
not to strike me dead today.
853
00:47:38,957 --> 00:47:40,456
It was horrible, buddy.
854
00:47:40,458 --> 00:47:43,326
My mind became a place
to get out of.
855
00:47:43,328 --> 00:47:45,528
And so I, you know,
when I discovered that
856
00:47:45,530 --> 00:47:48,264
there were substances that
could take me out of there,
857
00:47:48,266 --> 00:47:49,999
I was going for them.
858
00:47:50,001 --> 00:47:56,072
The moment I take cocaine,
it's a nightmare
from that point until I stop.
859
00:47:56,074 --> 00:48:00,076
Coke has such
an ownership thing,
it wants all of you.
860
00:48:00,078 --> 00:48:02,945
NARRATOR:
Brian knew this was the
biggest deal of his career.
861
00:48:02,947 --> 00:48:05,448
And as long as
he stayed clean,
he'd be all right.
862
00:48:05,450 --> 00:48:07,550
The first part of
the load was 25 tons.
863
00:48:07,552 --> 00:48:09,585
And we met it up
in the Bering Sea,
864
00:48:09,587 --> 00:48:12,488
and then took it off up
into a fjord in Alaska,
865
00:48:12,490 --> 00:48:15,892
repackaged it all
in wetlock fish boxes,
866
00:48:15,894 --> 00:48:17,426
put it all on the trucks,
867
00:48:17,428 --> 00:48:20,396
I mean, it was
as smooth as silk.
868
00:48:20,398 --> 00:48:23,966
Once it was all offloaded,
we started partying.
869
00:48:23,968 --> 00:48:25,468
(DANCE MUSIC PLAYING)
870
00:48:29,106 --> 00:48:32,975
NARRATOR: There was
only one little problem,
and it wasn't Brian O'Dea.
871
00:48:32,977 --> 00:48:37,213
Brian's partner couldn't help
but party with a little
cocaine one night.
872
00:48:37,215 --> 00:48:39,982
Then another night,
and then another one.
873
00:48:39,984 --> 00:48:44,553
He'd show up at the house
in the middle of the night at
2:00 and 3:00 in the morning
874
00:48:44,555 --> 00:48:48,257
in a limousine, prostitutes,
cocaine, booze.
875
00:48:48,259 --> 00:48:51,994
Well, when he found out
that the load came in,
he came looking for his money.
876
00:48:51,996 --> 00:48:55,498
And we were very concerned
about him getting out there
with a whole pack of money
877
00:48:55,500 --> 00:48:57,433
and creating
a giant heat-score
878
00:48:57,435 --> 00:48:59,535
with these bags
of coke and hookers,
879
00:48:59,537 --> 00:49:01,404
so there was a concern
about giving him anything,
880
00:49:01,406 --> 00:49:05,174
giving him something,
giving him a million bucks,
what do we do?
881
00:49:05,176 --> 00:49:08,110
So the boys decided
to give him 50 grand,
and I thought,
882
00:49:08,112 --> 00:49:11,380
"He is not going to be
happy with 50 grand."
883
00:49:11,382 --> 00:49:14,483
He took that 50 grand,
he left that meeting,
884
00:49:14,485 --> 00:49:18,154
and he went right to the
DEA's office with the money
and put it on the table.
885
00:49:18,156 --> 00:49:22,425
And said, "I can tell you
where there's millions more
just like that."
886
00:49:22,427 --> 00:49:24,427
NARRATOR:
A few days later,
Brian and his team
887
00:49:24,429 --> 00:49:27,296
were expecting 50 tons
of marijuana to come in.
888
00:49:27,298 --> 00:49:31,200
So Brian took the precaution
of hiring an ex-DEA agent
889
00:49:31,202 --> 00:49:35,571
to run surveillance
on any law enforcement
activity in the area.
890
00:49:35,573 --> 00:49:38,240
O'DEA:
The load came in,
a huge load.
891
00:49:39,710 --> 00:49:43,045
We got a guy out
from San Diego who has
a spectrum analyzer.
892
00:49:43,047 --> 00:49:46,415
He's able to isolate
the transmission frequencies
of the DEA,
893
00:49:46,417 --> 00:49:48,484
and on the way up,
my scanner lights up,
894
00:49:48,486 --> 00:49:53,556
And the moment
it crossed the border
between Canada and the U.S.,
895
00:49:53,558 --> 00:50:00,196
DEA, the FBI,
alcohol tobacco firearms,
coast guard.
896
00:50:00,198 --> 00:50:02,298
Expecting to find reefer.
897
00:50:04,334 --> 00:50:06,469
There wasn't a joint
in sight,
898
00:50:06,471 --> 00:50:09,772
but there was
fresh donuts made
and coffee on the brew,
899
00:50:09,774 --> 00:50:12,575
and they took that
as insult.
900
00:50:12,577 --> 00:50:16,278
You know,
you can't help doing stuff
like that sometimes.
901
00:50:17,347 --> 00:50:21,684
Seventy-five tons generated,
approximately
200 million U.S. dollars.
902
00:50:27,758 --> 00:50:33,129
NARRATOR: So where do you find
an ex-DEA agent or narc
who's willing to work for you?
903
00:50:33,131 --> 00:50:34,663
We've got someone
we can recommend.
904
00:50:44,508 --> 00:50:50,112
BARRY COOPER: In high school,
I wore overalls with no shirt,
my jeans tucked into my boots,
905
00:50:50,114 --> 00:50:53,449
and I could yell "yee-haw"
louder than the rest of them.
906
00:50:53,451 --> 00:50:58,788
Well, any of the kids that
we heard of smoking marijuana,
we would beat them up.
907
00:50:58,790 --> 00:51:02,124
The entire time,
we'd be drinking
and fighting each other.
908
00:51:02,126 --> 00:51:06,796
I decided to be cop
because I wanted to be able
to fight legally.
909
00:51:06,798 --> 00:51:09,398
I loved everything
about law enforcement.
910
00:51:09,400 --> 00:51:15,738
I learned
how to manipulate citizens
into running, or fighting.
911
00:51:15,740 --> 00:51:19,341
I was very popular
among all the other
police officers
912
00:51:19,343 --> 00:51:21,777
because of the excitement
I could get them in.
913
00:51:21,779 --> 00:51:24,146
We were trained
when a motorist was speeding,
914
00:51:24,148 --> 00:51:28,217
to get real close
and then activate
the red and blue lights.
915
00:51:28,219 --> 00:51:31,787
Well, I learned
to lag way back
916
00:51:31,789 --> 00:51:36,092
then turn my lights on
to give that motorist
the opinion that
917
00:51:36,094 --> 00:51:38,828
"I might have a chance
to outrun this guy."
918
00:51:38,830 --> 00:51:43,332
you're addicted
to the adrenaline
and you don't realize it.
919
00:51:44,568 --> 00:51:48,237
I was the best drug agent
in the area.
920
00:51:48,239 --> 00:51:52,842
There's not a day
that we don't put somebody
in jail for narcotics,
921
00:51:52,844 --> 00:51:55,444
for finding mainly marijuana.
922
00:51:55,446 --> 00:51:58,681
I only had 5 miles of highway
in my jurisdiction
923
00:51:58,683 --> 00:52:01,584
and I made over
100 drug arrests in one year.
924
00:52:01,586 --> 00:52:03,719
MAN: He's got a gun! Shoot!
925
00:52:03,721 --> 00:52:08,624
The DEA, they were jealous,
because they were supposed to
be making all the big arrests.
926
00:52:08,626 --> 00:52:12,161
The first month,
I performed
seven drug raids.
927
00:52:12,163 --> 00:52:15,764
The DEA were only doing
one a year.
The entire DEA.
928
00:52:15,766 --> 00:52:17,900
And they had jurisdiction
of every county,
929
00:52:17,902 --> 00:52:20,236
I only had jurisdiction
in one city.
930
00:52:20,238 --> 00:52:23,806
I'll never forget
the last marijuana arrest
I made.
931
00:52:23,808 --> 00:52:27,877
And something hit me,
I thought, "I make
three or four of these a day."
932
00:52:27,879 --> 00:52:31,614
Almost everybody I stop
has marijuana.
933
00:52:31,616 --> 00:52:36,552
There's marijuana roach
in your ash tray,
and I smell marijuana.
934
00:52:36,554 --> 00:52:38,554
Ladies, any of y'all got
any marijuana on you?
935
00:52:38,556 --> 00:52:40,756
I thought there's got to be
something to it.
936
00:52:40,758 --> 00:52:43,692
Well, for years,
I had pounds in my house
937
00:52:43,694 --> 00:52:46,562
as training aids
to train my drug dog.
938
00:52:46,564 --> 00:52:50,633
So, I went home,
and I smoked that pot,
and I loved it.
939
00:52:50,635 --> 00:52:53,369
I'm like,
"This is what it's about."
940
00:52:53,371 --> 00:52:56,438
It's one of
the funniest things
I'd ever done.
941
00:52:56,440 --> 00:52:59,775
I married my pot dealer,
this girl named Candy.
942
00:52:59,777 --> 00:53:01,911
Candy and I were talking,
and I said,
943
00:53:01,913 --> 00:53:06,849
"Should I make a film
on how insane
the drug war is
944
00:53:06,851 --> 00:53:10,486
"or should I just teach people
how not to
get busted for pot?"
945
00:53:10,488 --> 00:53:12,788
All these secrets I had.
946
00:53:12,790 --> 00:53:15,858
And she said,
"You gotta teach 'em
how not to get busted."
947
00:53:15,860 --> 00:53:19,628
High Times,
Cannabis Culture,
everything out there.
948
00:53:19,630 --> 00:53:23,399
We went on the Internet,
and nothing was out there
like it.
949
00:53:25,535 --> 00:53:29,872
Coming off the success
of the Never Get Busted
video series,
950
00:53:29,874 --> 00:53:33,442
we begin getting
thousands of emails
951
00:53:33,444 --> 00:53:37,346
of people being arrested
and mistreated
by law enforcement.
952
00:53:37,348 --> 00:53:40,249
And if I got an email
and it fit exactly
what I used to do,
953
00:53:40,251 --> 00:53:41,917
I knew
they were telling the truth.
954
00:53:41,919 --> 00:53:44,587
And we were getting
thousands of these.
955
00:53:44,589 --> 00:53:46,956
So Candy and I were talking
and she said,
956
00:53:46,958 --> 00:53:51,293
"You know, Barry,
you were so good at busting
all those citizens,
957
00:53:51,295 --> 00:53:55,531
"you should start busting
some of these crooked cops,"
958
00:53:55,533 --> 00:53:57,566
and I'm like, "Yeah!"
959
00:53:57,568 --> 00:54:02,705
Barry Cooper's
a guy you can call
if cops plant drugs on you.
960
00:54:02,707 --> 00:54:05,007
Even if you've never
dealt drugs in your life.
961
00:54:05,009 --> 00:54:07,309
RAYMOND MADDEN:
My granddad told me
a long time ago,
962
00:54:07,311 --> 00:54:09,245
tough times
don't build character.
963
00:54:09,247 --> 00:54:10,980
Tough times show character.
964
00:54:10,982 --> 00:54:15,985
he called us and he said,
"Tell you
what I think happened.
965
00:54:15,987 --> 00:54:18,454
"They made
a mistake in identity."
966
00:54:18,456 --> 00:54:21,857
Confidential informants
ended up planting drugs
on the wrong person.
967
00:54:21,859 --> 00:54:23,726
It struck me later on
that evening,
968
00:54:23,728 --> 00:54:26,295
it just kinda, you know,
my eyes popped open, like,
969
00:54:26,297 --> 00:54:29,365
"Wait a minute.
How do you plant drugs
on the right person?"
970
00:54:29,367 --> 00:54:32,468
and informant
was instructed by police
971
00:54:32,470 --> 00:54:34,536
to plant a bag of meth
in his daughter's car.
972
00:54:34,538 --> 00:54:36,772
But unfortunately,
the information was wrong,
973
00:54:36,774 --> 00:54:40,542
Yolanda Madden was a working,
single mother of two
at the time of her arrest.
974
00:54:40,544 --> 00:54:44,013
So Raymond
flew to East Texas
and met with me.
975
00:54:44,015 --> 00:54:49,985
And I told him how we could
catch those officers that
planted the drugs on Yolanda.
976
00:54:49,987 --> 00:54:52,821
Because some of them
were my ex-partners.
977
00:54:54,758 --> 00:54:58,327
NARRATOR: Barry planted
two Christmas trees
under some grow lamps.
978
00:54:58,329 --> 00:55:01,030
Then, Odessa cops
received an anonymous tip
979
00:55:01,032 --> 00:55:03,666
that a major drug operation
was under way.
980
00:55:03,668 --> 00:55:04,867
As Barry knew they would,
981
00:55:04,869 --> 00:55:09,505
leading up to
an illegal invasion
and search of his house.
982
00:55:09,507 --> 00:55:12,675
Barry proved that Odessa cops
routinely break the law,
983
00:55:12,677 --> 00:55:15,511
as standard operating
procedure
in fighting the drug war.
984
00:55:15,513 --> 00:55:17,446
COOPER:
Get these cameras ready.
985
00:55:17,448 --> 00:55:19,782
Hey, I'm Barry Cooper
with KopBusters!
986
00:55:19,784 --> 00:55:21,583
Why are you
in my house?
987
00:55:21,585 --> 00:55:26,455
I'm busy making sure
these Odessa cops
quit planting drugs on people.
988
00:55:26,457 --> 00:55:28,324
POLICE OFFICER:
We're not giving
nobody no hassle.
989
00:55:28,326 --> 00:55:30,459
COOPER: You did too.
Y'all planted drugs
on Yolanda
990
00:55:30,461 --> 00:55:32,528
and she's in prison
because of it.
991
00:55:32,530 --> 00:55:35,397
That's giving people
a hassle.
992
00:55:35,399 --> 00:55:38,400
You guys are wrong
on this one and you know it.
You got burnt.
993
00:55:38,402 --> 00:55:41,603
He got a media event,
and that thing
went national.
994
00:55:41,605 --> 00:55:46,375
In 2008, ex-drug officer
Barry Cooper
set up Odessa police
995
00:55:46,377 --> 00:55:48,544
to bring attention
to Madden's case.
996
00:55:48,546 --> 00:55:50,512
It was a success.
997
00:55:50,514 --> 00:55:55,084
And to prove we were right,
the judge let her go.
She got out of prison.
998
00:55:55,086 --> 00:55:57,619
NEWS REPORTER:
Painful memories
that melt away
999
00:55:57,621 --> 00:56:00,789
as Yolanda Madden
emerges a free woman.
1000
00:56:00,791 --> 00:56:04,059
I went to prison
a single mom of two kids,
16 and 11.
1001
00:56:04,061 --> 00:56:06,095
My son is 20 and married.
1002
00:56:06,097 --> 00:56:09,431
And of course my daughter is,
she's getting ready to be 16.
1003
00:56:09,433 --> 00:56:11,600
And I'm talking to this
young woman, you know,
1004
00:56:11,602 --> 00:56:13,535
that was just a child
when I left.
1005
00:56:13,537 --> 00:56:16,905
So, I mean,
I miss the years,
you know. But...
1006
00:56:19,642 --> 00:56:22,911
I've got lots of ways
to sting cops.
1007
00:56:22,913 --> 00:56:24,780
It just takes money.
1008
00:56:25,916 --> 00:56:30,886
If you've come this far,
you've learned to beat cases
and outsmart the law,
1009
00:56:30,888 --> 00:56:34,423
while stacking up hundreds of
millions of dollars in cash.
1010
00:56:34,425 --> 00:56:37,459
This concludes chapter six,
How to Be a Kingpin.
1011
00:56:37,461 --> 00:56:40,829
You're almost ready
for the top level,
Running a Drug Cartel.
1012
00:56:40,831 --> 00:56:45,901
there's one more way
to make money in the game
here at home,
1013
00:56:45,903 --> 00:56:47,970
even more than kingpins.
1014
00:56:47,972 --> 00:56:50,038
This is the secret level.
1015
00:56:53,977 --> 00:56:57,646
For all you
government officials
out there,
1016
00:56:57,648 --> 00:56:59,715
we're going to teach you
how to expand your power,
1017
00:56:59,717 --> 00:57:01,550
and take out
political opponents.
1018
00:57:01,552 --> 00:57:03,952
All you need is a drug war.
1019
00:57:03,954 --> 00:57:09,458
Drugs used to be legal.
Heroin, cocaine, everything.
1020
00:57:09,460 --> 00:57:13,929
Until about 100 years ago,
when America appointed
its first drug czar,
1021
00:57:13,931 --> 00:57:16,031
a man named Harry Anslinger.
1022
00:57:16,033 --> 00:57:18,000
In his report
to the U.S. Senate,
1023
00:57:18,002 --> 00:57:21,537
Anslinger detailed the reasons
drugs must be outlawed.
1024
00:57:21,539 --> 00:57:22,638
This is what he said.
1025
00:57:22,640 --> 00:57:26,742
"There are 100,000
marijuana smokers
in the U.S.,
1026
00:57:26,744 --> 00:57:31,013
"and most are Negroes,
Hispanics, Filipinos,
and entertainers.
1027
00:57:31,015 --> 00:57:34,917
"Their satanic music,
jazz and swing,
result from marijuana use.
1028
00:57:34,919 --> 00:57:40,122
"It causes white women to seek
sexual relations with Negroes,
entertainers and others."
1029
00:57:42,725 --> 00:57:45,994
Anslinger's popularity
soared with voters,
1030
00:57:45,996 --> 00:57:48,530
and lawmakers
began outlawing drugs.
1031
00:57:48,532 --> 00:57:53,101
Then the evangelical movement
inspired Congress
to ban alcohol as well.
1032
00:57:53,103 --> 00:57:58,040
and battles
for exclusive territories
erupted with a violence
1033
00:57:58,042 --> 00:58:00,509
unparalleled in the history
of law enforcement.
1034
00:58:00,511 --> 00:58:03,045
NARRATOR:
Guys like Al Capone were
suddenly making big bucks.
1035
00:58:03,047 --> 00:58:06,515
The black market exploded
with such violence
that public opinion turned
1036
00:58:06,517 --> 00:58:08,750
and Roosevelt
ended alcohol prohibition,
1037
00:58:08,752 --> 00:58:10,786
crushing
the burgeoning industry.
1038
00:58:10,788 --> 00:58:13,222
But Harry Anslinger
didn't stop pushing
drug prohibition.
1039
00:58:13,224 --> 00:58:17,259
In the 1960s,
he took his case all the way
to the United Nations,
1040
00:58:17,261 --> 00:58:22,164
and lobbied the whole world
to adopt the U.S. policy
of outlawing drugs.
1041
00:58:22,166 --> 00:58:25,734
Richard Nixon would pick up
where Anslinger left off.
1042
00:58:26,736 --> 00:58:32,040
America's public enemy
number one in the
United States is drug abuse.
1043
00:58:33,176 --> 00:58:36,245
NARRATOR: While publicly
claiming to address addiction
and violence,
1044
00:58:36,247 --> 00:58:38,914
Nixon used drug policy
as a weapon
1045
00:58:38,916 --> 00:58:41,917
to move against those
he thought of
as his political enemies.
1046
00:58:41,919 --> 00:58:43,952
(RICHARD NIXON SPEAKING)
1047
00:59:01,871 --> 00:59:03,672
To fight and defeat
this enemy,
1048
00:59:03,674 --> 00:59:08,110
it is necessary to wage
a new, all-out offensive.
1049
00:59:08,112 --> 00:59:11,914
NARRATOR: President Nixon
created the Drug Enforcement
Administration,
1050
00:59:11,916 --> 00:59:17,619
with an annual budget
of $65 million,
and started the war on drugs.
1051
00:59:17,621 --> 00:59:21,290
If you are a governor,
mayor, police chief,
or any public official,
1052
00:59:21,292 --> 00:59:25,127
an enormous amount of money
was suddenly available
from the federal government.
1053
00:59:25,129 --> 00:59:27,829
All you had to do
was enlist in the drug war.
1054
00:59:27,831 --> 00:59:30,599
FRANKLIN:
All of us in law enforcement,
we're soldiers.
1055
00:59:30,601 --> 00:59:33,702
We developed the cases,
we got the informants,
we did the search warrants,
1056
00:59:33,704 --> 00:59:37,673
we did the wire taps,
but we didn't
take the money out of it.
1057
00:59:37,675 --> 00:59:42,778
All the wonderful
little entrepreneurs said,
"Now it's my time."
1058
00:59:42,780 --> 00:59:45,280
NARRATOR: Twelve years later,
the federal drug war budget
1059
00:59:45,282 --> 00:59:48,250
had grown to over
$1.5 billion a year.
1060
00:59:49,719 --> 00:59:52,588
And the Reagan administration
stepped up the rhetoric.
1061
00:59:58,094 --> 01:00:01,663
For the sake of our children,
I implore each of you,
1062
01:00:01,665 --> 01:00:06,001
to be unyielding
and inflexible
in your opposition to drugs.
1063
01:00:06,003 --> 01:00:07,336
Say yes to your life.
1064
01:00:07,338 --> 01:00:10,072
And when it comes to drugs,
just say no.
1065
01:00:10,074 --> 01:00:11,607
"Just say no"
is sort of a fraud,
1066
01:00:11,609 --> 01:00:13,942
it's one America
talking to the other
1067
01:00:13,944 --> 01:00:16,845
not even knowing
how the other half
has to live.
1068
01:00:16,847 --> 01:00:20,315
NARRATOR: David Simon is
the creator of the critically
acclaimed series The Wire.
1069
01:00:20,317 --> 01:00:23,619
When you're at war,
you need a fucking enemy.
1070
01:00:23,621 --> 01:00:28,090
And pretty soon damn near
everybody on every corner
is your fuckin' enemy.
1071
01:00:28,092 --> 01:00:29,958
NARRATOR:
David based the characters
in his show
1072
01:00:29,960 --> 01:00:31,927
on the real world events
he observed
1073
01:00:31,929 --> 01:00:34,363
during his many years as
a Baltimore police reporter.
1074
01:00:34,365 --> 01:00:36,798
Yeah, we were saying
"Just say no"
1075
01:00:36,800 --> 01:00:38,967
to involving yourself
in the drug trade.
1076
01:00:38,969 --> 01:00:42,738
It was like telling people
in a factory town,
"Don't go to work for steel."
1077
01:00:42,740 --> 01:00:45,340
Or telling people in Detroit,
"Don't go to work for GM."
1078
01:00:45,342 --> 01:00:47,709
"Just say no"
in West Baltimore
is telling somebody,
1079
01:00:47,711 --> 01:00:51,380
"Don't go work
for the only factory that is
hiring in your neighborhood."
1080
01:00:51,382 --> 01:00:54,249
And the country
is telling you implicitly,
"We don't need you."
1081
01:00:54,251 --> 01:00:56,652
You're a human being
without purpose.
1082
01:00:56,654 --> 01:01:00,255
And that's 10, to 15, to 20%
of our population
at this point.
1083
01:01:00,257 --> 01:01:02,658
You got to realize
we ain't got no jobs
around here or nothin'.
1084
01:01:02,660 --> 01:01:06,294
You know, so, every time
we try to make
a little somethin'
1085
01:01:06,296 --> 01:01:09,297
to get on our feet,
to try and help
to feed our family,
1086
01:01:09,299 --> 01:01:13,001
they come kicking the doors in
and knocking, knocking us
back down again.
1087
01:01:13,003 --> 01:01:16,438
Even as you fall
into the corner culture
and ruin your life,
1088
01:01:16,440 --> 01:01:19,341
um, you're granted meaning.
1089
01:01:19,343 --> 01:01:21,443
You're granted a purpose.
1090
01:01:21,445 --> 01:01:24,146
You're gonna go out
and you're going to
sell this G-pack today
1091
01:01:24,148 --> 01:01:27,115
And you're going to
bring that money home
to your people.
1092
01:01:27,117 --> 01:01:29,851
So "just say no"
was a problem.
1093
01:01:29,853 --> 01:01:34,156
Um, in that, we had not given
the slightest bit of thought
1094
01:01:34,158 --> 01:01:38,060
as to what people
in these worlds
were supposed to say yes to,
1095
01:01:38,062 --> 01:01:44,466
NARRATOR: By 1986,
the U.S. was allocating
$2.9 billion per year
1096
01:01:44,468 --> 01:01:49,771
That's when
the Democrats seized
an incredible opportunity
1097
01:01:49,773 --> 01:01:52,307
over the media frenzy
surrounding Len Bias.
1098
01:01:52,309 --> 01:01:54,342
COMMENTATOR 1:
Len Bias with 29...
1099
01:01:54,344 --> 01:01:56,478
COMMENTATOR 2: Oh, my!
1100
01:01:56,480 --> 01:01:59,448
Len Bias was
a college star athlete.
1101
01:01:59,450 --> 01:02:02,017
He was signed to go
to the Boston Celtics.
1102
01:02:02,019 --> 01:02:07,055
he signs, like,
a contract with Adidas
for millions of dollars.
1103
01:02:07,057 --> 01:02:10,225
He's got it made.
He flew back that night
from the signing,
1104
01:02:10,227 --> 01:02:14,463
celebrating in his dorm room
at the University of Maryland,
he's snorting cocaine...
1105
01:02:14,465 --> 01:02:18,166
And his heart failed
and they said it was because
of, uh, heavy cocaine use.
1106
01:02:18,168 --> 01:02:19,935
And he has a seizure
and he dies.
1107
01:02:19,937 --> 01:02:21,737
NARRATOR: Eric Sterling
was working as a lawyer
1108
01:02:21,739 --> 01:02:23,805
at the House of
Representatives at the time.
1109
01:02:23,807 --> 01:02:28,343
ERIC STERLING:
The story is a horror
of how Congress operates.
1110
01:02:28,345 --> 01:02:32,481
The Democratic leadership
figured if they put together
an anti-drug bill,
1111
01:02:32,483 --> 01:02:36,451
and they play it right,
they can win big
in the November election.
1112
01:02:36,453 --> 01:02:39,955
Responding appropriately
to the public's alarm
about drugs,
1113
01:02:39,957 --> 01:02:41,990
which, an alarm
they helped create.
1114
01:02:41,992 --> 01:02:44,760
We're dealing with nothing
less than chemical warfare
1115
01:02:44,762 --> 01:02:46,962
against the youth
of this nation.
1116
01:02:46,964 --> 01:02:49,998
STERLING:
Press conferences, speeches,
"The Plague."
1117
01:02:50,000 --> 01:02:51,466
"Should we put in
the death penalty?"
1118
01:02:51,468 --> 01:02:53,335
"Yeah, let's have
the death penalty!"
1119
01:02:53,337 --> 01:02:59,107
People who push drugs
must be put in jail
for a minimum of 50 years.
1120
01:02:59,109 --> 01:03:02,110
It had this quality of, like,
Sotheby's auction, you know.
1121
01:03:02,112 --> 01:03:05,113
"I'll see ya! I'll raise ya!
I'm tougher, I'm meaner!"
1122
01:03:05,115 --> 01:03:07,249
In my nine years
working for the Congress,
1123
01:03:07,251 --> 01:03:11,987
this is the only time
we wrote legislation
in such haste
1124
01:03:11,989 --> 01:03:14,389
and without
careful consideration.
1125
01:03:14,391 --> 01:03:17,025
NARRATOR:
Actress Susan Sarandon
worked with many others
1126
01:03:17,027 --> 01:03:19,161
to fight against
the harsh drug sentences
1127
01:03:19,163 --> 01:03:20,929
that were spreading out
across the country.
1128
01:03:20,931 --> 01:03:23,031
I just think people
don't understand really.
1129
01:03:23,033 --> 01:03:25,801
They just hear
"tough on drugs"
and they just go, "Yeah!
1130
01:03:25,803 --> 01:03:28,036
"Let's do that."
You know, "We'll be safer."
1131
01:03:28,038 --> 01:03:30,839
They don't understand
what it, what it means.
1132
01:03:30,841 --> 01:03:33,175
Hamida Hassan,
a mother of three children,
1133
01:03:33,177 --> 01:03:37,012
moved to her cousin's house
in Nebraska to escape
an abusive boyfriend.
1134
01:03:37,014 --> 01:03:39,514
HAMIDA HASSAN:
They were selling drugs,
and I knew that, you know,
1135
01:03:39,516 --> 01:03:43,852
but I didn't concern myself
with the particulars
of what they were doing.
1136
01:03:43,854 --> 01:03:45,153
It seemed more safe to me.
1137
01:03:45,155 --> 01:03:51,226
Hamida was given
the mandatory minimum
of 27 years.
1138
01:03:51,228 --> 01:03:53,495
HASSAN:
I'm 25 years old,
I'm six months pregnant,
1139
01:03:53,497 --> 01:03:57,232
and I'm going to be sentenced
to a natural life sentence.
1140
01:03:57,234 --> 01:03:59,901
Right now,
the way the laws stand,
you can murder somebody
1141
01:03:59,903 --> 01:04:03,171
and get out quicker
than be in a house
where there's a drug bust
1142
01:04:03,173 --> 01:04:06,174
and you don't even know
what's going on.
1143
01:04:06,176 --> 01:04:08,376
You can end up
serving 30 years.
1144
01:04:08,378 --> 01:04:11,179
It's crazy.
I mean, it's not right.
1145
01:04:11,181 --> 01:04:14,482
NARRATOR:
Since 1993, Hamida Hassan
has been in prison.
1146
01:04:14,484 --> 01:04:17,118
And her children have grown up
without their mother.
1147
01:04:17,120 --> 01:04:20,255
HAMIDA'S DAUGHTER:
I just always break out
in tears,
1148
01:04:20,257 --> 01:04:21,890
because I just
miss my mom a lot
1149
01:04:21,892 --> 01:04:25,060
and I just hope that
she come home soon.
1150
01:04:25,062 --> 01:04:28,330
STERLING: Many of the people
in federal prison,
as I'm speaking right now,
1151
01:04:28,332 --> 01:04:31,967
who are there on drug charges,
are there
on mandatory minimums.
1152
01:04:31,969 --> 01:04:33,435
Whatever charge
they're serving,
1153
01:04:33,437 --> 01:04:34,936
they're serving
a longer sentence
1154
01:04:34,938 --> 01:04:39,941
that in part
reflects my failures
1155
01:04:39,943 --> 01:04:42,878
to be a better lawyer
in blocking that law.
1156
01:04:43,946 --> 01:04:45,881
It pains me very much,
1157
01:04:45,883 --> 01:04:49,384
you know, when I meet
the family members
of these people,
1158
01:04:49,386 --> 01:04:51,386
uh, it breaks my heart.
1159
01:04:57,227 --> 01:05:00,562
NARRATOR:
It was a total success
for the Democrats.
1160
01:05:00,564 --> 01:05:03,198
Many of the congressmen
behind the mandatory minimums
1161
01:05:03,200 --> 01:05:05,967
were re-elected
the following term.
1162
01:05:05,969 --> 01:05:09,104
If you really wanna
do good in politics,
be tough on drugs.
1163
01:05:09,106 --> 01:05:14,643
the CIA discovered
that drug money could help
U.S. foreign interests.
1164
01:05:14,645 --> 01:05:19,514
POLITICIAN: Now we all know
that the U.S. government
and the CIA supported
1165
01:05:19,516 --> 01:05:23,218
the contras in Nicaragua,
in the middle '80s.
1166
01:05:23,220 --> 01:05:28,690
Now it is alleged the CIA
also helped the contras
raise money for arms
1167
01:05:28,692 --> 01:05:33,128
by introducing crack cocaine
into California.
1168
01:05:33,130 --> 01:05:36,031
There's no question in my mind
there is complicity
1169
01:05:36,033 --> 01:05:38,333
in the flow of drugs
into this country, period.
1170
01:05:38,335 --> 01:05:42,070
NEWS REPORTER:
A senate investigation led by
John Kerry of Massachusetts
1171
01:05:42,072 --> 01:05:46,041
found that individuals
who provided support
for the contras
1172
01:05:46,043 --> 01:05:51,413
NARRATOR: Freeway Rick's
former South American
cocaine supplier
1173
01:05:51,415 --> 01:05:54,049
was a major contributor
to the contras.
1174
01:05:54,051 --> 01:05:57,585
Eventually the DEA hired him
to set up Freeway Rick,
1175
01:05:57,587 --> 01:06:00,021
putting him in jail
for 20 years.
1176
01:06:00,023 --> 01:06:03,224
The DEA paid Rick's supplier
for services,
1177
01:06:03,226 --> 01:06:05,460
and American
crack cocaine users
1178
01:06:05,462 --> 01:06:09,464
helped pay for
a U.S. government-supported
war in South America.
1179
01:06:11,434 --> 01:06:15,136
And when that first cocaine
was smuggled in on a ship,
1180
01:06:15,138 --> 01:06:17,973
it may as well have been
a deadly bacteria,
1181
01:06:17,975 --> 01:06:22,043
so much as it hurt the body,
the soul of our country.
1182
01:06:22,045 --> 01:06:26,481
But take my word for it,
this scourge will stop.
1183
01:06:26,483 --> 01:06:29,150
NARRATOR:
President Bush Senior
doubled the war budget.
1184
01:06:30,186 --> 01:06:34,122
And by the end
of his administration,
it had doubled yet again.
1185
01:06:34,124 --> 01:06:38,059
During the '90s,
government asset forfeiture
was also on the rise.
1186
01:06:38,061 --> 01:06:42,664
is they permit the government
to seize assets
and money of people
1187
01:06:42,666 --> 01:06:46,701
where they believe that
those assets are connected
to drug enforcement.
1188
01:06:46,703 --> 01:06:50,105
It's very easy
for the government
to get assets this way
1189
01:06:50,107 --> 01:06:52,307
because the standard of proof
is so much lower.
1190
01:06:52,309 --> 01:06:54,676
No one needs to be charged
or convicted of a crime.
1191
01:06:54,678 --> 01:06:57,345
NARRATOR:
The message to law enforcement
officers was simple.
1192
01:06:57,347 --> 01:07:00,015
In the event that you are
an undercover officer
1193
01:07:00,017 --> 01:07:02,751
and you see someone
carrying two suitcases,
1194
01:07:02,753 --> 01:07:05,453
one is full of money,
the other is full of drugs,
1195
01:07:05,455 --> 01:07:06,755
follow the money.
1196
01:07:06,757 --> 01:07:10,492
Drugs coming up from Mexico
go north and east.
1197
01:07:10,494 --> 01:07:12,594
To seize the large amounts
of money,
1198
01:07:12,596 --> 01:07:17,632
I was instructed
to begin working
south and west bound traffic.
1199
01:07:17,634 --> 01:07:23,772
I got extremely talented
at seizing money
under the rules of law.
1200
01:07:23,774 --> 01:07:25,607
That's highway robbery.
1201
01:07:25,609 --> 01:07:29,144
I have heard
a police officer say
1202
01:07:29,146 --> 01:07:30,745
"Chief, we need
a new vehicle."
1203
01:07:30,747 --> 01:07:34,049
He'd say "All right, go out,
find a drug dealer
and seize one."
1204
01:07:34,051 --> 01:07:37,385
And so they literally
try to find this property.
1205
01:07:37,387 --> 01:07:40,722
If I found
100,000 dollars
drug money,
1206
01:07:40,724 --> 01:07:45,060
that paid my salary
for a year, auto expenses,
dog expenses,
1207
01:07:45,062 --> 01:07:47,695
whatever it took
to keep me on board,
1208
01:07:47,697 --> 01:07:49,597
everything after that
was profit.
1209
01:07:49,599 --> 01:07:53,101
The same problem
comes up with regard
to police corruption.
1210
01:07:53,103 --> 01:07:57,572
You go out in the field
and you will see
a stack of cash.
1211
01:07:57,574 --> 01:08:01,276
So you just lift
maybe 10, 20, 30, 40 dollars
off the top
1212
01:08:01,278 --> 01:08:02,510
and nobody notices,
1213
01:08:02,512 --> 01:08:04,446
and of course
there's no accounting anyway,
1214
01:08:04,448 --> 01:08:06,481
so next time you will lift
maybe a hundred.
1215
01:08:06,483 --> 01:08:08,416
If I found
a stash of money,
1216
01:08:08,418 --> 01:08:10,718
I'd take a couple
hundred bucks,
1217
01:08:10,720 --> 01:08:13,288
stick it in my pocket
and then turn it in.
1218
01:08:13,290 --> 01:08:15,590
I'm not proud of that.
1219
01:08:15,592 --> 01:08:17,759
NARRATOR:
Between 2000 and 2003,
1220
01:08:17,761 --> 01:08:21,129
the Department of Justice
earned over
one billion dollars
1221
01:08:21,131 --> 01:08:22,430
in forfeiture proceeds.
1222
01:08:22,432 --> 01:08:25,200
By 2008,
that number had tripled.
1223
01:08:26,168 --> 01:08:27,769
By the time
Clinton left office,
1224
01:08:27,771 --> 01:08:32,607
High school students'
use of methamphetamines
had doubled.
1225
01:08:32,609 --> 01:08:35,810
And heroin and cocaine
were cheaper and purer
than they were
1226
01:08:35,812 --> 01:08:38,880
when the first drug laws
were passed in 1914.
1227
01:08:38,882 --> 01:08:42,851
The war on drugs
is not winnable,
but it's eminently fundable,
1228
01:08:42,853 --> 01:08:45,587
and the government
is addicted to that funding.
1229
01:08:45,589 --> 01:08:47,722
OFFICER: You know,
the worst thing
about this drug war,
1230
01:08:47,724 --> 01:08:51,292
it just ruined this job.
1231
01:08:51,294 --> 01:08:52,861
You know I began
as a police reporter,
1232
01:08:52,863 --> 01:08:55,630
somebody very sympathetic
to good police work,
1233
01:08:55,632 --> 01:08:57,465
and I still am sympathetic
to good police work.
1234
01:08:57,467 --> 01:09:00,602
But I have no regard
for the drug war anymore.
1235
01:09:00,604 --> 01:09:02,704
If you're a fan of
the HBO series The Wire,
1236
01:09:02,706 --> 01:09:04,606
you see this emphasized
over and over again,
1237
01:09:04,608 --> 01:09:07,208
that it's all about
statistics and numbers.
1238
01:09:07,210 --> 01:09:09,677
NARRATOR:
Radley Balko is a journalist
who spent years
1239
01:09:09,679 --> 01:09:13,681
studying the effects
that federal drug money
has had on law enforcement.
1240
01:09:13,683 --> 01:09:15,750
You need to make
as many drug arrests
as possible,
1241
01:09:15,752 --> 01:09:19,354
and that's how
you get your grant
in the federal government.
1242
01:09:19,356 --> 01:09:21,156
NARRATOR:
If you're running
a police department,
1243
01:09:21,158 --> 01:09:22,790
you don't get
massive grant money
1244
01:09:22,792 --> 01:09:26,394
for solving murder cases,
or rapes, or theft.
1245
01:09:26,396 --> 01:09:30,165
Your only
major financial incentive
is to solve drug crimes,
1246
01:09:30,167 --> 01:09:32,901
and if you don't make
the same drug arrests
as last year,
1247
01:09:32,903 --> 01:09:35,370
you won't get
the same budgets this year.
1248
01:09:35,372 --> 01:09:38,373
And yet, all you're doing
is making
meaningless street arrests
1249
01:09:38,375 --> 01:09:40,642
that have no consequence.
1250
01:09:40,644 --> 01:09:46,781
NARRATOR: This incentivizes
police departments to set up
specialized SWAT teams
1251
01:09:46,783 --> 01:09:49,484
so police can conduct
more drug raids.
1252
01:09:49,486 --> 01:09:52,754
And the U.S. government
will provide money
for SWAT equipment as well.
1253
01:09:52,756 --> 01:09:56,858
No-knock raids
are some of the most cruel,
horrible tragedies
1254
01:09:56,860 --> 01:10:00,395
a human can go through
because it's so terrifying.
1255
01:10:00,397 --> 01:10:04,632
I raided over 100 houses
in my law enforcement career.
1256
01:10:04,634 --> 01:10:07,969
There'd be 15 of us
in all this riot gear,
1257
01:10:07,971 --> 01:10:11,206
and the biggest, fanciest
guns we could get.
1258
01:10:11,208 --> 01:10:13,274
I was always the guy
who kicked the door in,
1259
01:10:13,276 --> 01:10:14,943
'cause I was
the most aggressive one.
1260
01:10:14,945 --> 01:10:20,949
And we threw flash grenades
in the window to confuse
everybody.
1261
01:10:23,285 --> 01:10:27,622
The one that really
stands out in my mind was,
1262
01:10:28,724 --> 01:10:32,594
I remember
a blonde-headed girl
with blue eyes,
1263
01:10:32,596 --> 01:10:34,762
like my daughter's,
1264
01:10:34,764 --> 01:10:40,335
and it almost seems
like it was one
of my daughters now.
1265
01:10:40,337 --> 01:10:44,405
And uh, she had a brother,
and they were so scared.
1266
01:10:44,407 --> 01:10:47,342
POLICE OFFICER:
Don't move,
you understand?
1267
01:10:47,344 --> 01:10:49,677
MAN: Did you shoot my dog?
1268
01:10:49,679 --> 01:10:51,846
MAN: Did you shoot
my fucking dog?
1269
01:10:51,848 --> 01:10:53,915
(FAMILY YELLING INDISTINCTLY)
1270
01:11:00,556 --> 01:11:03,424
MAN: Why did you do that?
1271
01:11:03,426 --> 01:11:06,661
And we ripped that family
apart for a bag of pot?
1272
01:11:08,897 --> 01:11:11,266
Sometimes people feed
them wrong information,
1273
01:11:11,268 --> 01:11:12,867
sometimes it's just
an accident,
1274
01:11:12,869 --> 01:11:16,971
where they read,
instead of "863"
they read "868"
1275
01:11:16,973 --> 01:11:21,676
And when they got to the house
of the former marine,
Jose Guerena,
1276
01:11:21,678 --> 01:11:24,812
he had already
been alerted by his wife
that someone was outside,
1277
01:11:24,814 --> 01:11:26,447
so he grabbed his rifle.
1278
01:11:26,449 --> 01:11:28,850
But before Guerena
could remove the safety
from his rifle,
1279
01:11:28,852 --> 01:11:32,453
he was greeted by
more than 60 bullets
from law enforcement.
1280
01:11:32,455 --> 01:11:35,623
The SWAT team refused
to let anyone attend
to Guerena,
1281
01:11:35,625 --> 01:11:37,492
leaving no hope
for him to survive.
1282
01:11:37,494 --> 01:11:39,961
We've raised a generation
of cops in Baltimore
1283
01:11:39,963 --> 01:11:42,363
who can make a drug arrest,
but can't do police work.
1284
01:11:42,365 --> 01:11:43,931
You don't know
how to use an informant
1285
01:11:43,933 --> 01:11:45,700
and not be used
by an informant.
1286
01:11:45,702 --> 01:11:48,503
You don't know how to write
an intelligent search warrant,
1287
01:11:48,505 --> 01:11:51,673
you don't know how to
retroactively investigate
a crime,
1288
01:11:51,675 --> 01:11:54,008
you don't understand
how to maintain a crime scene.
1289
01:11:54,010 --> 01:11:56,878
All the things that count
as quality police work,
1290
01:11:56,880 --> 01:12:00,515
that's a direct consequence
of the drug war that
nobody thought about.
1291
01:12:00,517 --> 01:12:04,585
NARRATOR: In the 1980s,
there were about 3,000
SWAT raids a year.
1292
01:12:04,587 --> 01:12:08,856
Today, that number is
estimated at around 50,000
SWAT raids a year.
1293
01:12:10,092 --> 01:12:13,561
Most serving warrants on
non-violent drug offenders.
1294
01:12:13,563 --> 01:12:16,364
These raids gone wrong
are actually pretty common.
1295
01:12:16,366 --> 01:12:18,933
They happen, by my estimate,
a few times a week,
across the country.
1296
01:12:18,935 --> 01:12:24,839
when narcotics officers
knocked down the door
at her home on Neal Street,
1297
01:12:24,841 --> 01:12:26,774
and then opened fire.
1298
01:12:26,776 --> 01:12:33,481
a 68-year-old grandfather
of 12 was killed in his home
in Framingham, Massachusetts.
1299
01:12:33,483 --> 01:12:35,416
NARRATOR:
While drug war money
has financed
1300
01:12:35,418 --> 01:12:39,554
an unprecedented expansion
of U.S. law enforcement,
1301
01:12:39,556 --> 01:12:43,758
the bulk of drug money
has continued to flow
outside U.S. borders
1302
01:12:43,760 --> 01:12:46,461
and into the pockets
of true masters of the game.
1303
01:13:08,751 --> 01:13:13,921
As a cartel drug lord,
your biggest problem is going
to be counting your money.
1304
01:13:13,923 --> 01:13:16,991
But you'll have a few guys
hired to do that.
1305
01:13:16,993 --> 01:13:21,028
And a few more guys to count
your mansions, houses,
planes, boats, luxury cars,
1306
01:13:21,030 --> 01:13:24,399
and all the material
possessions you could
possibly dream of.
1307
01:13:25,601 --> 01:13:27,502
Like all the kings
and emperors before you,
1308
01:13:27,504 --> 01:13:30,438
you too will have
your very own army.
1309
01:13:30,440 --> 01:13:34,509
Driving around in custom
made tanks designed by top
military equipment engineers.
1310
01:13:35,812 --> 01:13:40,982
and too many of your men
find themselves in prison,
1311
01:13:40,984 --> 01:13:45,553
you just send a couple hundred
of your best guys down there
and get them out of jail.
1312
01:13:45,555 --> 01:13:48,089
The guards won't stop you.
1313
01:13:48,091 --> 01:13:51,859
Anyone you perceive
as being a threat,
you send a message.
1314
01:13:51,861 --> 01:13:53,661
You chop off people's heads.
1315
01:13:54,830 --> 01:13:56,964
You roll those heads
into nightclubs
1316
01:13:56,966 --> 01:14:02,036
or pile them up and hang
their bodies from bridges to
keep your competition in line.
1317
01:14:02,038 --> 01:14:06,674
As a cartel drug lord,
you kill anybody
who gets in your way,
1318
01:14:06,676 --> 01:14:08,743
literally gunning
down civilians,
1319
01:14:08,745 --> 01:14:10,978
as long as
you hit your target.
1320
01:14:10,980 --> 01:14:14,715
You'll be so used to killing,
nothing will faze you
anymore.
1321
01:14:15,984 --> 01:14:22,223
Since 2006, over 50,000
people have been murdered
in Mexico's war on drugs.
1322
01:14:22,225 --> 01:14:25,026
Most of those cases
remain unsolved.
1323
01:14:25,028 --> 01:14:28,496
Not because you're
careful about covering up
your crimes,
1324
01:14:28,498 --> 01:14:30,565
but because you terrify
the police.
1325
01:14:30,567 --> 01:14:35,203
What happens when
you as a public official,
or a police chief,
1326
01:14:35,205 --> 01:14:38,973
receive an envelope
with photographs
of your family?
1327
01:14:38,975 --> 01:14:41,843
It won't take you long
either to resign,
1328
01:14:41,845 --> 01:14:44,212
or to go along
with their wishes.
1329
01:14:44,214 --> 01:14:48,549
The cartels have more
money and more guns
than the police do.
1330
01:14:48,551 --> 01:14:50,518
In a lot of ways,
that doesn't make
any difference
1331
01:14:50,520 --> 01:14:52,019
because the police
are on their payrolls,
1332
01:14:52,021 --> 01:14:54,856
but where they're not,
they can literally
outgun the police.
1333
01:14:57,192 --> 01:14:58,793
NARRATOR:
To run a global company,
1334
01:14:58,795 --> 01:15:00,995
you need operatives
all over the world.
1335
01:15:00,997 --> 01:15:04,832
An international work force
rivaling any other
Fortune 500.
1336
01:15:04,834 --> 01:15:07,268
So where do you find
your employees?
1337
01:15:07,270 --> 01:15:10,071
Like business school does
for our corporate leaders,
1338
01:15:10,073 --> 01:15:12,173
jails are like
the ultimate job fair
1339
01:15:12,175 --> 01:15:15,776
for gangs, dealers, hitmen,
and other criminals for hire.
1340
01:15:15,778 --> 01:15:18,646
HARRIEL: We was in there
beating people up,
robbing people.
1341
01:15:18,648 --> 01:15:21,249
I almost killed a guy.
I beat him so bad
that I almost killed him.
1342
01:15:21,251 --> 01:15:23,518
SKIPP: You know, tensions
are high at all times.
1343
01:15:23,520 --> 01:15:24,986
If it's not between
the Bloods and Crips,
1344
01:15:24,988 --> 01:15:27,121
it might be between
the blacks and Latinos,
1345
01:15:27,123 --> 01:15:29,957
or might be between
the prison guards and inmates.
1346
01:15:29,959 --> 01:15:33,094
80% of the guys
in there don't have
a high school diploma,
1347
01:15:33,096 --> 01:15:37,098
So if you have no one
to show you what manhood is,
1348
01:15:37,100 --> 01:15:39,133
you'll be just like
the sharks just out there.
1349
01:15:39,135 --> 01:15:45,907
From 1920 to 1970
the rate of incarceration in
the United States was level.
1350
01:15:45,909 --> 01:15:50,011
From the depression,
World War II,
the postwar boom,
1351
01:15:50,013 --> 01:15:52,680
through the '50s,
through the '60s,
1352
01:15:52,682 --> 01:15:54,282
the rate of incarceration
was level.
1353
01:15:54,284 --> 01:15:57,318
Public enemy number one
is drug abuse.
1354
01:15:57,320 --> 01:16:01,222
STERLING: In 1970,
the rate of incarceration
starts going up.
1355
01:16:01,224 --> 01:16:04,725
And it has not stopped
going up for a half century.
1356
01:16:06,895 --> 01:16:09,063
NARRATOR:
Only 5% of the world
is American.
1357
01:16:09,065 --> 01:16:12,900
But today,
America has 25%
of the world's prisoners.
1358
01:16:12,902 --> 01:16:16,137
GRAY:
The United States of America,
the land of the free,
1359
01:16:16,139 --> 01:16:19,073
leads the world in
the incarceration
of our people.
1360
01:16:19,075 --> 01:16:24,645
And incarcerate them
at levels unheard of
in the rest of the world.
1361
01:16:24,647 --> 01:16:29,050
NARRATOR:
No other nation comes close.
Not China, not Russia, nobody.
1362
01:16:29,052 --> 01:16:30,651
There are only
two explanations,
1363
01:16:30,653 --> 01:16:33,788
one is that
we are uniquely evil,
1364
01:16:33,790 --> 01:16:38,059
and the other is that
we have uniquely
counterproductive laws.
1365
01:16:38,061 --> 01:16:41,028
NARRATOR: And while
the prison population
continues to grow,
1366
01:16:41,030 --> 01:16:43,731
the demand for illegal drugs
is still rising.
1367
01:16:50,973 --> 01:16:53,975
50% of America has consumed
an illegal drug.
1368
01:16:53,977 --> 01:16:56,243
Do they think they can lock
up half of the country?
1369
01:16:56,245 --> 01:16:58,713
There's just no stopping us.
1370
01:16:58,715 --> 01:17:00,881
Everybody I know
wants to do drugs
is doing them.
1371
01:17:00,883 --> 01:17:03,150
They don't care
if it's legal or illegal,
they're doing them.
1372
01:17:03,152 --> 01:17:08,089
Some of America's
most famous business
leaders, like Steve Jobs,
1373
01:17:08,091 --> 01:17:12,693
has said taking LSD
was one of the most important
experiences of his life.
1374
01:17:12,695 --> 01:17:18,699
I don't think it's as much
a question about drugs
as it's about freedom.
1375
01:17:18,701 --> 01:17:20,768
Whatever this
freedom word means,
1376
01:17:20,770 --> 01:17:23,004
we really gotta
grab hold of that.
1377
01:17:23,972 --> 01:17:26,874
Either we have
the right to do
what we want to do
1378
01:17:26,876 --> 01:17:29,844
as long as we aren't
hurting someone else,
1379
01:17:29,846 --> 01:17:32,680
or we're not living
in a free country.
1380
01:17:32,682 --> 01:17:36,117
I'm just horrified by the way
that we think of people
1381
01:17:36,119 --> 01:17:38,719
because of the choice
of substance that they
put in their bodies
1382
01:17:38,721 --> 01:17:40,254
to alter their perception.
1383
01:17:40,256 --> 01:17:42,857
And we judge them
as good or bad,
1384
01:17:42,859 --> 01:17:46,827
while we sip our wine
and have our cocktail parties
1385
01:17:46,829 --> 01:17:48,396
and you know...
1386
01:17:48,398 --> 01:17:51,732
Stick that hypocrisy right up
society's ass for me.
1387
01:17:51,734 --> 01:17:55,936
Some of them can kill you
the first time you try them
and other ones are really fun.
1388
01:17:55,938 --> 01:17:57,938
And someone's lying to you
if they say they're not.
1389
01:17:57,940 --> 01:18:02,109
Our own power as individuals
over our own bodies,
our thoughts,
1390
01:18:02,111 --> 01:18:05,379
our minds, our ideas,
and our feelings,
1391
01:18:05,381 --> 01:18:08,149
those are not things
that can be taken away
from us.
1392
01:18:08,151 --> 01:18:12,019
And anybody who would allow
the state to take them away
1393
01:18:12,021 --> 01:18:14,822
doesn't deserve the title
"American citizen."
1394
01:18:16,158 --> 01:18:18,459
NARRATOR: The vast majority
of drug dealers never make it.
1395
01:18:18,461 --> 01:18:20,995
They're either killed,
or wind up in prison.
1396
01:18:20,997 --> 01:18:23,230
But Americans just keep
demanding more drugs.
1397
01:18:23,232 --> 01:18:28,169
MAN: Approximately half
a million Americans are
incarcerated on drug charges.
1398
01:18:28,171 --> 01:18:31,005
In recent years
we've spent more money
building new prisons
1399
01:18:31,007 --> 01:18:36,444
And they are beneficiaries,
the people who manage
these prisons,
1400
01:18:36,446 --> 01:18:39,013
the prison guards' unions,
1401
01:18:39,015 --> 01:18:42,249
they all have a vested
interest in perpetuating
this broken system.
1402
01:18:42,251 --> 01:18:45,486
NARRATOR: And famous
American freedom advocates
have been speaking for years
1403
01:18:45,488 --> 01:18:47,722
about the conflict of
interest for politicians.
1404
01:18:49,191 --> 01:18:52,493
Are you running for office,
and you need more dough?
1405
01:18:52,495 --> 01:18:55,062
Adopt a tough
on crime position,
1406
01:18:55,064 --> 01:18:58,399
you'll get a lot of money
from the prison industry.
Think about it.
1407
01:19:04,372 --> 01:19:07,174
NARRATOR: But even
the largest prison system
in the history of the world
1408
01:19:07,176 --> 01:19:09,944
is just another market
for drug dealers.
1409
01:19:09,946 --> 01:19:12,146
There are drugs inside jail.
1410
01:19:13,281 --> 01:19:19,487
Oh, you can find weed, coke,
crystal meth, ecstasy.
Even heroin, you can find.
1411
01:19:19,489 --> 01:19:23,257
People work there,
bring it over,
or visitors.
1412
01:19:24,359 --> 01:19:26,260
There's drugs inside jail.
1413
01:19:28,964 --> 01:19:30,364
NARRATOR: Congratulations.
1414
01:19:30,366 --> 01:19:35,369
you're the number one
organized crime threat
in the United States,
1415
01:19:35,371 --> 01:19:39,206
having set up franchises in
over 1,000 American cities.
1416
01:19:39,208 --> 01:19:42,176
You have an operating budget
larger than most countries.
1417
01:19:42,178 --> 01:19:47,548
You and your partners
in crime make over
150 billion dollars a year.
1418
01:19:47,550 --> 01:19:50,818
And business shows
no signs of slowing down.
1419
01:19:50,820 --> 01:19:55,556
Because like any good game,
the machine creates an
endless supply of players.
1420
01:19:55,558 --> 01:19:58,993
The government always says
drugs are illegal,
because they're bad for you,
1421
01:19:58,995 --> 01:20:00,795
and we're trying
to protect societies,
1422
01:20:00,797 --> 01:20:03,397
but the government doesn't
give a fuck about your safety.
1423
01:20:03,399 --> 01:20:06,534
The government,
they don't want you
to use your drugs,
1424
01:20:06,536 --> 01:20:09,103
they want you
to use their drugs.
1425
01:20:09,105 --> 01:20:13,107
So every night on TV,
you see a weird ass
drug commercial
1426
01:20:13,109 --> 01:20:16,477
trying to get you hooked
on some legal shit.
1427
01:20:16,479 --> 01:20:21,549
And they just keep
naming symptoms till they
get one that you fucking got.
1428
01:20:21,551 --> 01:20:23,417
I think once
I took my first Vicodin
1429
01:20:23,419 --> 01:20:27,254
it was just like
this feeling of, "Aah,"
you know,
1430
01:20:27,256 --> 01:20:31,458
like everything
was not only mellow
but didn't feel any pain,
1431
01:20:31,460 --> 01:20:33,928
it didn't...
It just kind of
numbed things.
1432
01:20:33,930 --> 01:20:38,032
I don't know
at what point exactly
it started to be a problem,
1433
01:20:38,034 --> 01:20:41,302
I just remember liking it
more and more.
1434
01:20:41,304 --> 01:20:43,604
People tried to tell me
that I had a problem,
1435
01:20:43,606 --> 01:20:45,372
I would say, "Get that
fucking person out of here,
1436
01:20:45,374 --> 01:20:47,141
"I can't believe
they said that shit to me.
1437
01:20:47,143 --> 01:20:48,442
"They know nothing
about my fucking life.
1438
01:20:48,444 --> 01:20:50,177
"Are they out of
their fucking mind?
1439
01:20:50,179 --> 01:20:54,882
"I'm not out there
fucking, you know,
putting coke up my nose,
1440
01:20:54,884 --> 01:20:56,183
"I'm not smoking crack."
1441
01:20:56,185 --> 01:20:58,853
You're struggling
with the argument of,
1442
01:20:58,855 --> 01:21:00,855
do you have a problem
or do you not have a problem,
1443
01:21:00,857 --> 01:21:02,489
can you control it
or can you not,
1444
01:21:02,491 --> 01:21:05,025
and I literally thought
I could control it.
1445
01:21:05,027 --> 01:21:06,927
NARRATOR:
And for one out of ten people,
1446
01:21:06,929 --> 01:21:10,064
this is how easy it is to fall
into the hands of addiction.
1447
01:21:10,066 --> 01:21:14,869
I snorted OxyContin
and I remember just
falling down on that couch
1448
01:21:14,871 --> 01:21:18,339
and just feeling euphoric,
and feeling that,
1449
01:21:18,341 --> 01:21:21,942
"This is how I should feel,
this is how it should
always be."
1450
01:21:21,944 --> 01:21:24,245
I had fun for a lot
of those years.
1451
01:21:24,247 --> 01:21:29,483
But for five or six of them,
every time I did it,
it was a freaking nightmare.
1452
01:21:29,485 --> 01:21:31,151
NARRATOR:
Once you're addicted,
1453
01:21:31,153 --> 01:21:32,887
the drugs become
interchangeable.
1454
01:21:32,889 --> 01:21:35,623
You're taking things
that people are giving you
1455
01:21:35,625 --> 01:21:37,591
that you don't even know
what the fuck they are.
1456
01:21:37,593 --> 01:21:42,630
They look like a pill
and they're shaped like
something that you take,
1457
01:21:42,632 --> 01:21:44,331
so you take it.
1458
01:21:44,333 --> 01:21:48,202
You know. Xanax, Valium,
tomato, tomahto.
1459
01:21:48,204 --> 01:21:50,104
You know what I mean,
it's the same thing.
1460
01:21:50,106 --> 01:21:52,273
All in the same family,
fuck it, take it.
1461
01:21:52,275 --> 01:21:55,042
You know, OxyContin
is very expensive,
and I couldn't afford it,
1462
01:21:55,044 --> 01:21:58,412
so eventually a friend said,
"Well, you can do heroin.
1463
01:21:58,414 --> 01:22:02,983
"Heroin's a lot cheaper
and you can...
It's easier to get, actually."
1464
01:22:02,985 --> 01:22:05,419
And the cost was huge.
1465
01:22:05,421 --> 01:22:07,988
Beyond the price,
beyond the dollar.
1466
01:22:07,990 --> 01:22:12,426
I was doing too much cocaine,
becoming too paranoid.
1467
01:22:12,428 --> 01:22:15,129
People started smoking it,
I started smoking it.
1468
01:22:15,131 --> 01:22:22,102
I was sweating,
I was shitting,
I was vomiting everywhere,
1469
01:22:22,104 --> 01:22:26,040
and, you know, I said,
"I need to go to a hospital."
1470
01:22:26,042 --> 01:22:29,310
Had I have gotten
to the hospital
about two hours later,
1471
01:22:29,312 --> 01:22:30,544
I would have died.
1472
01:22:30,546 --> 01:22:33,213
Having my mom
look over me crying,
1473
01:22:33,215 --> 01:22:36,016
over her little baby boy,
in a hospital,
1474
01:22:36,018 --> 01:22:39,153
at 2:00 in the morning,
I just felt like shit.
1475
01:22:39,155 --> 01:22:42,056
My organs were shutting down,
my liver, kidneys, everything.
1476
01:22:42,058 --> 01:22:43,657
They were going to have
to put me on dialysis.
1477
01:22:43,659 --> 01:22:45,326
They didn't think
I was gonna make it.
1478
01:22:45,328 --> 01:22:47,161
My bottom was going
to be death.
1479
01:22:47,163 --> 01:22:49,430
Within a month,
I had relapsed,
1480
01:22:50,465 --> 01:22:53,400
and shot right back up
to the same amount
of pills I was taking.
1481
01:22:53,402 --> 01:22:56,003
I remember just walking
around my house
1482
01:22:56,005 --> 01:22:59,540
and thinking
every single day like,
I'm gonna fucking die.
1483
01:22:59,542 --> 01:23:03,143
I'm looking at my kids
and I need to be here
for this.
1484
01:23:03,145 --> 01:23:05,179
It was everything
that I loved.
1485
01:23:05,181 --> 01:23:06,580
And everything that loved me
1486
01:23:06,582 --> 01:23:10,317
was a price that I was
willing to pay to do coke.
1487
01:23:10,319 --> 01:23:11,986
That's a horrible price.
1488
01:23:11,988 --> 01:23:15,489
if they can't afford
to support their habit,
1489
01:23:15,491 --> 01:23:19,426
I think when you come
from a poor family,
you wanna do drugs,
1490
01:23:19,428 --> 01:23:23,030
and drugs cost money,
and then you see a way out.
1491
01:23:23,032 --> 01:23:25,733
OxyContin is very expensive.
And people keep calling you,
1492
01:23:25,735 --> 01:23:27,534
you know, people want drugs.
1493
01:23:27,536 --> 01:23:29,203
And it was hard
not to give them it,
1494
01:23:29,205 --> 01:23:32,373
because I knew
I could make 50 dollars
just like that.
1495
01:23:32,375 --> 01:23:35,642
The day I ate LSD,
the next day I sold LSD.
1496
01:23:35,644 --> 01:23:38,379
The day I did cocaine,
the next day I sold cocaine.
1497
01:23:38,381 --> 01:23:40,314
The day I shot drugs,
I was selling dope.
1498
01:23:40,316 --> 01:23:43,183
I never meant to get
in the dope business.
1499
01:23:43,185 --> 01:23:45,519
That wasn't my plan.
1500
01:23:45,521 --> 01:23:47,688
But it just started that way.
1501
01:23:47,690 --> 01:23:51,392
Eventually I would make
my way to a Narcotics
Anonymous meeting
1502
01:23:51,394 --> 01:23:54,795
and a kid was reading
"What is an addict"
and it said very simply,
1503
01:23:54,797 --> 01:23:58,665
"An addict is a man or a woman
whose life is controlled
by drugs,
1504
01:23:58,667 --> 01:24:01,635
"in one form or another,
the getting and using,
1505
01:24:01,637 --> 01:24:04,104
"and finding ways
and means to get more."
1506
01:24:04,106 --> 01:24:06,607
And I heard that,
and a light went on
in my head.
1507
01:24:06,609 --> 01:24:10,044
I knew I was an addict
for the first time in my life.
1508
01:24:10,046 --> 01:24:12,346
When people asked me,
"What's wrong with you?"
1509
01:24:12,348 --> 01:24:19,386
Coming off of everything,
I literally was up 24 hours
a day for 3 weeks straight.
1510
01:24:19,388 --> 01:24:25,392
And I mean, not sleeping,
not even nodding off
for a fucking minute.
1511
01:24:25,394 --> 01:24:29,530
Like I was literally just up,
looking at the TV.
1512
01:24:29,532 --> 01:24:31,432
I had to regain
motor skills,
1513
01:24:31,434 --> 01:24:33,534
I had to regain
talking skills.
1514
01:24:33,536 --> 01:24:37,704
It's been a learning process,
like, it's been...
I'm growing.
1515
01:24:37,706 --> 01:24:41,108
I just couldn't believe
that anybody could be
naturally happy
1516
01:24:41,110 --> 01:24:45,312
or naturally function or be
enjoying life in general
without being on something.
1517
01:24:46,848 --> 01:24:51,652
So I would say to anybody
it does get better,
you know.
1518
01:24:51,654 --> 01:24:53,554
It just, it does.
1519
01:24:55,191 --> 01:25:01,528
NARRATOR: Marshall Mathers,
Mike Walzman, Brian O'Dea,
and Bobby Carlton
1520
01:25:01,530 --> 01:25:05,165
would take years in and
out of treatment programs
before they finally got sober.
1521
01:25:05,167 --> 01:25:08,669
And this is normal.
Addiction is still
a modern mystery.
1522
01:25:08,671 --> 01:25:12,206
Rehabilitation programs
are underfunded,
and often unavailable,
1523
01:25:12,208 --> 01:25:14,308
except for the very rich.
1524
01:25:14,310 --> 01:25:17,711
But in promoting
a culture of addiction
and substance abuse,
1525
01:25:17,713 --> 01:25:22,349
drug cartels have an
even more powerful ally than
the pharmaceutical industry.
1526
01:25:22,351 --> 01:25:24,618
The number one
gateway drug in the world.
1527
01:25:32,460 --> 01:25:34,528
Yeah, it's the worst
drug on the planet.
1528
01:25:34,530 --> 01:25:38,298
95% of the violent offenses
ever committed by anyone
locked up in prison
1529
01:25:38,300 --> 01:25:43,871
NARRATOR: And as
any addict will tell you,
the quickest way to relapse
1530
01:25:43,873 --> 01:25:47,241
is compromising your
judgment and willpower
with alcohol.
1531
01:25:50,712 --> 01:25:53,413
With legal drug companies
promoting drug use,
1532
01:25:53,415 --> 01:25:56,683
it would seem almost
impossible to fight the
monster of addiction.
1533
01:25:56,685 --> 01:25:59,920
But there's one industry
that's mastered the
art of drug dealing,
1534
01:25:59,922 --> 01:26:04,625
and they know the secret
approach that could threaten
the entire addiction market.
1535
01:26:04,627 --> 01:26:09,296
I'm Patrick Reynolds.
My grandfather founded the
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.
1536
01:26:10,331 --> 01:26:13,934
My only memories of my dad
were of a man dying
from smoking.
1537
01:26:16,337 --> 01:26:20,641
Tobacco is killing more
than a combined total
of all the murders,
1538
01:26:20,643 --> 01:26:22,543
all the drugs,
all the suicides,
1539
01:26:22,545 --> 01:26:24,444
and all car accidents
combined.
1540
01:26:25,446 --> 01:26:29,249
Throw AIDS in,
tobacco is killing
more than the total.
1541
01:26:29,251 --> 01:26:31,218
If tobacco
were banned tomorrow,
1542
01:26:31,220 --> 01:26:35,522
and the DEA was going
to come after you
for smoking,
1543
01:26:35,524 --> 01:26:38,659
the first thing it would
do is it would make it
really cool to kids.
1544
01:26:38,661 --> 01:26:41,929
We'd have a black
market tobacco,
1545
01:26:41,931 --> 01:26:45,766
there would be tobacco
probably manufactured
in Mexico,
1546
01:26:45,768 --> 01:26:49,736
or some other country
and imported...
They'd find their way.
1547
01:26:49,738 --> 01:26:52,206
We know what works
for fighting tobacco.
1548
01:26:52,208 --> 01:26:54,675
Smoking bans in public places,
1549
01:26:54,677 --> 01:26:58,679
high tobacco taxes,
secession programs,
education,
1550
01:26:59,847 --> 01:27:01,682
and banning
tobacco advertising.
1551
01:27:04,819 --> 01:27:07,287
NARRATOR: What would happen
if we used the same approach
1552
01:27:07,289 --> 01:27:10,524
Patrick Reynolds described
succeeding with cigarettes
1553
01:27:10,526 --> 01:27:12,492
and applied that to all drugs?
1554
01:27:12,494 --> 01:27:16,563
That was tried in Portugal,
which had a huge drug problem,
1555
01:27:16,565 --> 01:27:23,804
NBC sent reporters to
study the drop in addiction
and abuse rates among teens.
1556
01:27:23,806 --> 01:27:26,707
So have you ever
used hashish?
GIRLS: No, never.
1557
01:27:26,709 --> 01:27:28,809
Why not?
It's bad for us.
1558
01:27:31,479 --> 01:27:33,714
NARRATOR:
Portuguese Prime Minister
Jose Socrates
1559
01:27:33,716 --> 01:27:35,949
was one of the architects
of the new policy,
1560
01:27:35,951 --> 01:27:37,851
has some advice
for the rest of us.
1561
01:27:37,853 --> 01:27:40,988
(SPEAKING PORTUGUESE)
1562
01:27:40,990 --> 01:27:42,990
TRANSLATOR:
I think the strategy can work
in any country,
1563
01:27:42,992 --> 01:27:47,461
of prejudice and take an
intelligent approach.
1564
01:27:47,463 --> 01:27:49,730
NARRATOR:
Even America's current
drug czar admits
1565
01:27:49,732 --> 01:27:52,299
that law enforcement
isn't the answer to drugs.
1566
01:27:52,301 --> 01:27:55,802
If you read the research,
you clearly and quickly
come to realize
1567
01:27:55,804 --> 01:28:00,407
I think for too long
we probably thought
we could either
1568
01:28:00,409 --> 01:28:02,576
arrest our way
out of the problem,
1569
01:28:02,578 --> 01:28:06,546
or solve it through some
criminal justice lens,
1570
01:28:06,548 --> 01:28:09,950
and I think we know
from past history
that is not the case.
1571
01:28:11,620 --> 01:28:17,891
the single greatest
public policy failure
of the last 50 years.
1572
01:28:17,893 --> 01:28:20,027
The DEA don't want
the drug problem to stop.
1573
01:28:20,029 --> 01:28:22,529
District attorneys don't want
the problem to stop.
1574
01:28:22,531 --> 01:28:25,832
Prisons don't want the
drug problem to stop.
They're pushing it on.
1575
01:28:26,935 --> 01:28:30,804
The only person who's
paying is the taxpayers.
1576
01:28:30,806 --> 01:28:35,475
NARRATOR: Freeway Rick Ross
and Brian O'Dea continue to
give inspirational speeches
1577
01:28:35,477 --> 01:28:38,045
on the dangers of
addiction and the
failures of prohibition.
1578
01:28:38,047 --> 01:28:42,082
O'DEA:
I was sentenced to 10 years.
Within an hour and a half,
1579
01:28:42,084 --> 01:28:46,620
I met guys in there who were
doing 75 years for pot.
1580
01:28:46,622 --> 01:28:48,989
One of these guys
has since died in prison.
1581
01:28:48,991 --> 01:28:51,525
And the other guys are
gonna die in prison.
1582
01:28:51,527 --> 01:28:54,861
But I got the government
selling me cigarettes in
there for 50 cents a pack.
1583
01:28:57,532 --> 01:29:03,603
Don't make sense, does it?
Didn't to me. Didn't to me.
1584
01:29:05,873 --> 01:29:08,575
NARRATOR: Bobby Carlton,
now clean for over a decade,
1585
01:29:08,577 --> 01:29:10,911
runs a sober living house
in Los Angeles,
1586
01:29:10,913 --> 01:29:16,516
You know, it's just the money
is so stupid that everybody's
a part of the problem,
1587
01:29:16,518 --> 01:29:23,924
NARRATOR: Big John now works
as a union electrician and
earns over six figures a year.
1588
01:29:23,926 --> 01:29:27,394
He and Skipp Townsend
volunteer as
community activists
1589
01:29:27,396 --> 01:29:30,831
and gang intervention
specialists
in Southern California.
1590
01:29:30,833 --> 01:29:34,101
I understand that
I can't do any better
unless I know better.
1591
01:29:34,103 --> 01:29:37,604
And so for the most part
when individuals ask me
for a job,
1592
01:29:37,606 --> 01:29:39,506
I understand that
nine out of ten,
1593
01:29:39,508 --> 01:29:45,645
It's just what they're sayin'.
But they're gonna revert back
to what comes easiest.
1594
01:29:45,647 --> 01:29:48,148
The current takes the path
of least resistance.
1595
01:29:48,150 --> 01:29:53,053
So, what's the easiest,
what's the easiest path?
That's drugs.
1596
01:29:53,055 --> 01:29:56,156
NARRATOR:
After a friend of his was
killed by one of the cartels,
1597
01:29:56,158 --> 01:29:58,558
Pepe left the game.
For the time being.
1598
01:29:58,560 --> 01:30:02,796
Right now I'm a painter.
A simple painter.
1599
01:30:04,499 --> 01:30:10,704
And this... I enjoy my
life right now, I'm fine.
But I know the way to make it.
1600
01:30:10,706 --> 01:30:13,540
If one day I need to,
I will go.
1601
01:30:13,542 --> 01:30:15,909
NARRATOR:
Barry Cooper,
after constant arrests
1602
01:30:15,911 --> 01:30:17,878
and raids on his
family's home,
1603
01:30:17,880 --> 01:30:23,884
outside the United States
where he continues
to dedicate his life
1604
01:30:23,886 --> 01:30:31,124
I'm not going to use our
energy to try and change the
minds of the old Americans
1605
01:30:31,126 --> 01:30:35,195
that made the laws and expect
us to live under those laws.
1606
01:30:37,432 --> 01:30:41,468
I'm going to use our energy
to rally the masses
who already get it.
1607
01:30:42,837 --> 01:30:47,073
NARRATOR: And Neill Franklin,
after 30 years fighting the
war on drugs,
1608
01:30:47,075 --> 01:30:49,643
is now the executive
director of LEAP,
1609
01:30:49,645 --> 01:30:51,845
an organization
of law enforcement
1610
01:30:51,847 --> 01:30:54,915
who are demanding an end
to the drug war.
1611
01:30:54,917 --> 01:30:59,786
It wasn't until after his
retirement that Neill Franklin
chose to speak out.
1612
01:30:59,788 --> 01:31:03,757
What I have here is referred
to as, in law enforcement,
as a shadow box.
1613
01:31:05,193 --> 01:31:09,796
And it basically contains
the law enforcement
officer's career.
1614
01:31:09,798 --> 01:31:12,199
And in my
retirement celebration,
1615
01:31:12,201 --> 01:31:15,936
this was presented to me
by Ed Toatley.
1616
01:31:15,938 --> 01:31:19,940
Ed Toatley was probably
the best narcotics agent
1617
01:31:19,942 --> 01:31:23,210
that the Maryland state
police had ever seen.
1618
01:31:23,212 --> 01:31:28,048
Ed Toatley was assassinated
in October 2000
by a drug dealer.
1619
01:31:33,488 --> 01:31:36,990
You get killed in this thing,
I'll be like, my generation
died in Vietnam.
1620
01:31:36,992 --> 01:31:41,561
It's perhaps heroic,
but it's absolutely
without meaning.
1621
01:31:41,563 --> 01:31:47,067
Because whether you make
the five kilogram bust,
500 kilos, a truck load.
1622
01:31:47,069 --> 01:31:49,903
None of it makes
any difference.
1623
01:31:49,905 --> 01:31:54,007
Drug dealers and cops
are replaced just like that.
1624
01:31:54,009 --> 01:31:58,512
FRANKLIN: People losing
parents, people losing sons,
people losing daughters.
1625
01:31:59,714 --> 01:32:02,916
You know,
Ed's kid's lost a father.
1626
01:32:02,918 --> 01:32:06,186
And those who are involved
in the illegal activity,
1627
01:32:07,588 --> 01:32:11,124
because you know what,
their lives are just
as important.
1628
01:32:19,066 --> 01:32:21,101
NARRATOR:
If we decriminalized
all drugs,
1629
01:32:21,103 --> 01:32:24,137
we would have billions
of dollars to battle
addiction,
1630
01:32:24,139 --> 01:32:26,540
drug abuse and poverty.
1631
01:32:29,110 --> 01:32:31,611
But as long as we support
a drug war,
1632
01:32:31,613 --> 01:32:35,282
we will continue to encourage
our children to pick up
the game
1633
01:32:35,284 --> 01:32:39,019
and discover for themselves
how to make money
selling drugs.
1633
01:32:40,305 --> 01:32:46,881
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