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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
7/30/2019 Eugene Jarecki: The High Times Interview
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March 2013 High Times The High Times Interview91
Right o the bat, why did you
make this documentary?
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How specically have anti-
drug policies caused this sort
o inequality?
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So what did you nd?
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Do you think that when the
War on Drugs started, it was
intended to become what it is
now?
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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.
7/30/2019 Eugene Jarecki: The High Times Interview
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92The High Times Interview High Times March 2013
d
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And those interests ultimatelydecided to come down hard on
minorities? In what way?
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So corporate America benets
rom the drug war?
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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?
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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 ...
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So how can people take action?
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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.
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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
7/30/2019 Eugene Jarecki: The High Times Interview
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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?
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What do you hope that people
will take away rom the lm?
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Jareckis appeal to end the drug
war throws no soft punches.
tylerstewart