Meth Storm

METH STORM was very well-received in its world premiere at Austin'S SXSW Film Festival. This is a powerful film about what addiction to this awful drug can do a family and a community - in this case, Faulkner County, Arkansas. The film makers spent a long time in the community and got to know some of the individuals well which allowed them to get remarkable and up close footage including film of people shooting up on meth. (This takes up well-beyond the romanticized and action-packed version of Meth seen on Breaking Bad.) While much of the blame for their bad choices can be placed on the individuals, it can also be blamed on the failures of government to provide these families jobs, educational opportunity, health care, and any sort of accessible drug treatment. The society has failed these families whose only real opportunity is the black market drug trade. The only governmental response is in law enforcement, but that seems to be utter and complete failure as well. The close-up view of the crisis is overwhelming. The mother tries to get her kids to quit drugs while failing to confront her own long-term addiction. The squalid conditions in which they live are heart-breaking. The ruined lives and the young kids that seem to have little more to look forward to are simply devastating to observe. The DEA agent attempts to arrest small-time dealers in hopes of breaking the drug ring and catching the Mexican source without seeming to realize that they are chasing shadows. They don't seem to realize that they can never win by prosecuting the demand side of the equation. This powerful film certainly raises more questions that it answers (much like the Michael Douglas film Traffic a generation ago). It has been picked up by HBO Films which should provide it with a well-deserved wider audience.

As a former paramedic, unfortunately this is exactly how meth affects not just the user, but their families and the community,

This is not a well- produced documentary but is an updated version of the docs 10 yrs ago when meth was being home-cooked in backyard meth labs, extremely dangerous in so many ways. Of course the cartels have come up w a more refined, more potent and cheaper product - simple supply and demand. However why the one reviewer below sits on his/her high horse and simply judges the people (yes, they are PEOPLE, HUMAN BEINGS) caught in the devastating spiral of drug addiction with all its destructive ripple effects, seeing them a losers who "got what they deserved" is such a pitiful commentary on someone who knows nothing about the powerful grip of addiction. Why waste time to "review" when all that person does is criticize these people. It shows complete ignorance about addiction. Get off your high horse and have some compassion- or shut the hell up.

I've been sober for 33 years, and so the crack/meth/opiate epidemics have grown outside my radar. This film is shocking, utterly shocking. If this is happening throughout the heartland, how do we even have a population? You hear about it and read about how large an issue it is, but this film really brings it home. We are in serious trouble. These people are addicted to drugs, alcohol, tobacco, sugar - they spend all day every day putting various types of poisons in their bodies. It's all they do - and you wonder why our national life expectancy is going down. Diabetes, overdose, heart disease, cancers due to tobacco use - and then add suicide to that. Wow what a gripping film.

In this documentary, there's a turtle in a tank. The water was filthy and they require a lot more care than this poor guy was getting. Someone needs to get that turtle out of that nasty environment. It's not right to film it and walk away.