How to Make Money Selling Drugs

This documentary really blew me away. It was funny, entertaining and informative. The message totally hits home and the film does so in such an effective way.

My favorite part of the film was definitely the way that the story was told. The ten steps were executed flawlessly with such incredible talent. To have such a great mix of celebrities with actual drug king pins really heightens the experience and made me feel like this topic touches such a wide breadth of people.

I also kept thinking about the film long after I left the screening. To me, this is a real sign of a great film.

I had the pleasure of attending a screening for How to Make Money Selling Drugs and I have to start out by saying that it is a definite yes.

This is not your typical documentary. This is a really captivating story that paints an overall picture by allowing the viewer inside of each step of the drug wars and drug dealing businesses both in our country and internationally. The viewer is brought into so many different people's lives and so many facets of the drug wars that you are left whole when the film ends.

The film is funny in a genuine way, yet powerful at the same time. I will reiterate that it's something to put on your radar.

How to Make Money Selling Drugs is an entertaining and fast paced ride that delivers a clear message. Whether you believe in decriminalizing drugs or not, the film gives nuggets of perspective that allow the audience to go on a path of discovery of their own, while still maintaining the film's own voice. The actual delivery of the message was the highlight for me. The film follows people from all walks of life - giving the audience a well-rounded, well researched and well conceived view. I find that many documentaries, especially on such controversial topics, can come out one-sided, but this is a true exception where you never feel forced to feel a certain way, but come out forming your own opinions that somehow mesh with the film's core values.

So, in sum, brilliant!

At the end of the film's premiere, the 300-odd cinema buffs at the Toronto Int Film Festival were in shock. They were still absorbing the multiple emotions evoked by the film's personalities and power. Ostensibly about the war against drugs and the drug trade, "How to Make Money Selling Drugs" paints on a much larger canvas. So many everyday impressions of how governments work, what the drug trade is, and how it's become such a scourge were overturned, it was difficult to take it all in. I think many will see the film a second or third time to fully absorb its import.

The production values are unusual for a documentary. "Talking heads" do not appear as such because everyone we get to meet comes across as a whole person, a unique individual with hopes, weaknesses, and strengths outside of the discussion at hand. They are characters in a real life story with real life consequences for them and the world around all of us. We get to know every one of them a little bit. I left wanting to learn more about many of them. What happens as a result is that the film rises to another level, another theme — a deeply human portrayal of the human condition. A surprisingly revealing mirror of ourselves. It's reporting of the highest possible caliber.

9.1 of 10. Starts out feeling like a comedy, a faux documentary, in part because of the title, but also because the opening few minutes mock the opening of any "how to get rich" or "how to be successful" TV/video nonsense. Then the alternate reality shifts into reality, but continues with the quick pace and fun attitude for what is a tragic look into the past and present of drugs.

It's essentially The War on Drugs documentary for Colbert Report and Daily Show fans, maybe even South Park fans. About the only thing it does wrong is not provide enough charts and data. What it does provide are seamlessly integrated into the film. I would have also like the part on Portugual explored a little more deeply.

But wait, there's more! No need for a gun, you can make money by selling drug fear too! This is more than a literal look at how to make money by selling drugs. It gets into the many different ways politicians and corporations are profiting from drug prohibition.