eugene jarecki: the high times interview

7/30/2019 Eugene Jarecki: The High Times Interview

1/4

THE HIGH TIMES INTERVIEW

EUGENEJARECKI

Story and photos by

TYLER STEWART

The director of the new

documentary The House

I Live Incalls the War

on Drugs an assault on

Americas minorities and

the working class.

tylerstewart


2/4

March 2013 High Times The High Times Interview91

Right o the bat, why did you

make this documentary?

I

I

I

A-A -

. I

,

A,I

,

I

A. W

, ,

A

. B

,

, ,

,

. A I

,

, I

A ,

,

. A, ,

T W D.

How specically have anti-

drug policies caused this sort

o inequality?

S R N

W D

1971, 700 -

,

A-A.

T

-, W

D -

, I

. I

W D

, I

. I -

I

-

A

, .

So what did you nd?

I 25

W

D ,

-

,

, ,

,

,

. I

-

,

. I

.

Do you think that when the

War on Drugs started, it was

intended to become what it is

now?

I

-

. B

W D

: I

. N,

,

D W

--

, , ,

-

- -

.

N , ,

-

- -

,

.

O N -

1972,

. S,

-

, ,

I

I

P . B

,

, , -

The director ofThe House I Live In discusses

the appalling human toll of the War on Drugs.

I November taught Americans anything, its

that the country is waking up. Inormations

rendezvous with desperation has causedthe veil not simply to be lited, but vio-

lently ripped rom the ace o a society long

entrenched in alse hopes and traditional values

that have so oten undercut the rights o signii-

cant groups o people. Gays and lesbians, the poor,

ethnic minorities and, yeah, even stoners saw major

victories out o this round at the polls. But while

positive change has shown its ace, the quibbling

goes on, the economy remains weak, and our politics

grow more brutal and rie with trivia. This poses

the inevitable question: What comes next? For those

ighting unair drug laws, uncertainties remain.

Will the legalization initiatives passed in Wash-

ington and Colorado see the rapid-ire adoption

o similar legislation in other states? Will that leg-

islation prevent tens o thousands o people rom

going to jail this year? Will the Feds go hard and

heavy into these reshly minted pot-riendly states?

While the uture remains unclear, it all comes

down to the catalyst that started it all: inorma-

tion. Because in terms o winning the War on Drugs,

there is no better weapon.

Once you consider the bigger picture, however,

recent pot victories look a lot smaller. Right now,

there are businessmen crammed into boardroomsand lobbyists swarming the halls o Congress, all

ighting to send people who use drugs to jail. Why?

For one reason only:because its profitable. Its been

dubbed the prison-industrial complex, a system in

which private prisons go up and drug oenders go

in. According to the new documentaryThe House

I Live In, this is nothing less than a Holocaust in

slow motion. Director Eugene Jarecki, known or

his relentlessly honest expositions o political

manipulation in two other acclaimed documentaries,

2002s The Trials of Henry Kissinger and 2005s Why

We Fight, oers a stark look at the creation and

warehousing o drug war criminals, particularly

the inner-city minorities most aected by drug

charges. Its a ilm that demands to be seen, and its

implications are every bit as rightening as they are

well-consideredso much so that The House I Live

Intook home the Grand Jury Prize in the documen-

tary category at the Sundance ilm estival in 2012.

At his production oice in lower Manhattan, the

director talked about the ramiications o this grim

reality, what role Americans can play in bringing it

to an end, and what will happen i we dont.


3/4

92The High Times Interview High Times March 2013

d

,

W

D,

.

And those interests ultimatelydecided to come down hard on

minorities? In what way?

Y , ,

---

. C

100

. H-

, I

,

500 -

. I ,

- -

. A 100:1 -

,

,

.

W

C, O

H

, W

. W

--

. T

,

So corporate America benets

rom the drug war?

Y

--

-

A,

-

W D,

$1 40

, 45

. A

: D ,

,

. S

C

,

.

A .

In contrast to those in author-

ity who are corrupt, what role

does society have in pushing

back? Do you think theres a

public passivity that prevents

progress, or do you think the

publics hands are tied because

o the overpowering nancial

interests?

I -

20

, -

-

A -

. T WMD

I -

A

. L-

,

- --

. A

W

-

,

.

A big part o the lm ocuses on

law-enorcement ofcers ling

many overtime pay slips or

their drug busts each month,

but the guy whos out solving

a murder or rape is getting just

one per month ...

A [T W ] D

S ,

-

,

. W,

-

; .

B

-

-

;

, dd.

So how can people take action?

W

-

-

. T

F A M

M,

-

. J

-

;

-

. T

-

. S -

.

A , ,

A

-

, P

.

T -

. A -

,

.

Lets talk about drug addiction

as a health issueanother point

thats brought up in the lm.

Columbia University proessor

Carl Hart says that addiction is

the result o pain, and our ocus

should be on getting to the root

o the pain.

I

,

. T

,

. I f

,

W -

. B

,

, -

.

The War on Drugs is reerred

During the past 40 years, the War on Drugs has cost more

than $1 trillion and has led to more than 45 million arrests.

Dere

kHallquist


4/4

94The High Times Interview High Times March 2013

to in the lm as a Holocaust

in slow motiona very heavy

statement. Why do you think

the country still has a mindset

that wishes to bring down cer-

tain groups o individuals?

I

I , A

-

. W

-1800

. W

C

: W

,

-

,

A -

S.

D -

N. T

A

R,

. I

. A

M-

,

R .

H

mj, S--

-

M

-

M-A. S

,

40

. I

,

.

I -d-

. O , -

-

,

. A I

-

, -

,

,

,

,

, -

, , , .

What do you hope that people

will take away rom the lm?

I

. O ,

I

W D

. I -

, --

40 .

I -

, .

T -

A

-

A ,

-

. O

,

-

W D -

, -

.

Jareckis appeal to end the drug

war throws no soft punches.

tylerstewart

eugene jarecki: the high times interview

Documents