Hollywood Behind the Drug War?
When I was much younger, I was shocked to read that mobsters might favor gambling and drug prohibition, since they were involved in those areas. I.e. I still clung to the naive view that actual businesspeople longed to be left alone by the government.
In that spirit, it occurred to me the other day–after watching No Country for Old Men–that Hollywood might be behind the Drug War. After all, think of how many cool movies would be totally boring if drugs were legalized! You’ve got obvious ones like Traffic and Serpico, but also The Godfather and, most recently, No Country for Old Men. And as cool as Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington are, American Gangster would have been rather lame if drugs were legal. “Frank Lucas is the most intimidating importer in the country! He’s pulling in, like, ten grand a month! Let’s make sure he’s not violating OSHA rules!”
