How to Make Money Selling Drugs: movie review

This concise, informative documentary sets out to do exactly as its title suggests – educate those who want to get into the drugs game about the risks and rewards of narcotics supply. Of course, it’s all a crafty cover for the film’s real agenda: offering a thoughtful, intelligent examination of the US war on drugs, and discussing the alternatives. The personalities giving expert testimony range from street dealers to international smugglers, cops and lawyers to celebrities. Childhood dealer Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson make an appearance. So too does former prescription drug addict Eminem and campaigners Susan Sarandon and Woody Harrelson. It’s all knitted together with sharp, unflashy graphics and clips from the likes of ‘The Wire’ and ‘Scarface’. The result is entertaining and insightful, balancing cold statistics with real-life stories of success and tragedy, presenting a broad, clear-eyed view of an increasingly complex issue.