On November 16th, 2010, openDemocracy & The Tedworth Charitable Trust presented, "Who's Addicted to the War On Drugs?" featuring Roger Graef, Charles Shaw and Tony Curzon-Price.

Forty years. One trillion dollars. Half a million prisoners. Millions disenfranchised. Failed states. Spiraling cartel violence. No real drop in supply or demand.

Welcome to the American "War on Drugs."

With lawmakers addicted to locking people up, the "war on drugs" is lost.

The damage done by criminalizing drug use is now too big to be ignored. 

In this excerpt, Charles Shaw tells some of his personal story which is chronicled in his memoir, Exile Nation: Drugs, Prisons, Politics & Spirituality.

Charles Shaw is preparing for the January 2011 launch of The Unheard Voices Project which has collected video testimonies from prisoners, ex-offenders, family members, and notable experts on the far-ranging consequences of the American criminal justice system.

Roger Graef, OBE is a distinguished documentary film-maker and criminologist. Among his more than eighty films, he is best known for his pioneering work in gaining access to hitherto closed institutions ranging from ministries and boardrooms to police, courts, prisons, probation and social work. These influential films include the Thames Valley Police, which helped change the way the police deal with rape victims. In Search of Law and Order, took a unique look at some groundbreaking ways of changing juvenile rehabilitation. 

Filmed at The Hub, Kings Cross, Central London.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3