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The ACLU
Freedom File
s is
a new 10
-part te
levision
series t
hat tell
s the
stories
of real
people i
n Americ
a who fa
ced
threats
to their
civil li
berties,
and foug
ht to
preserve thei
r freedo
ms. Crea
ted by t
he Ameri
can
Civil Li
berties Union
and Robe
rt Green
walds B
rave
New Film
s and di
rected by awar
d-winnin
g filmma
ker
Jeremy K
agan, th
e series
consists of 30
-minute
episodes
that use
intervie
ws, arch
ival footage,
re-enact
ments, c
omedy, d
rama, an
imation
and music
to explor
e today
s critic
al civil
rights i
ssues.
INSIDE THIS GUID
E
Whats i
n the Episode
Page 2
Discuss!
Dig Deepe
r!Page 3
Law Enfo
rcers
Say Who
a!
Page 4
Follow u
p:
Valerie
Corral
Page 5
Join the
Club
Page 6
THEACLUFRE
EDOMFILES
ProducersClu
bViewersGuid
e
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WHATSI
NTHEEP
ISODE
Regina Kelly, a mother of four in Hearne, Texas, was atwork when police officers took her into custody without
telling her why. In all, 27
young African Americans
were rounded up as part of a
massive drug bust, based on
the word of one unreliable
informant. Regina took
action to prohibit police
from basing arrests on
such flimsy evidence.
LeQuan Simpson
was a high-school student in Goose
Creek, S.C., when a SWAT team
stormed the school because they
believed one student had a joint.
The agents targeted African American
students, holding guns to their heads
as dogs ripped apart their backpacks.No drugs were ever found.
Kasaundra Lomax of Portland, Ore., was nine
years old when her mother went to jail because the
man she was involved with was dealing drugs.
Her mother,
Hamedah
Hasan, is facing
a mandatory
minimum sen-
tence of 27
years, though
she is a first-
time offender
who never used
drugs herself
and was not actually selling them.
2
Despitede
cadesofma
ssivespen
dingonla
wenforcem
entand
draconian
punishmen
ts,theU.S
.governme
ntswaro
ndrugsh
as
donenothingtored
ucedruga
buseoreli
minatethe
presenceo
fdrugs.
Instead,it
hasundermine
dourmost
basicconst
itutionalri
ghts,
divertedre
sourcesfro
mfightingother
crimes,fos
teredracia
lprofiling,
createdan
unpreceden
tedlevelof
incarceration,an
dprevente
dpeople
withseriou
sillnesses
fromacces
singmedica
tionsthatcouldhe
lp
them.This
episodeof
TheACLUF
reedomFil
esshowsh
owthewa
ron
drugshas
becomeaw
arontheA
mericanpe
ople,andin
troducesy
ou
toindividua
lswhoare
fightingba
ck.
After Valerie Corral
of Santa Cruz, Calif.,
found that marijuana
relieved her debili-
tating seizures, she
helped author the
first state law
allowing the use of
medical marijuanaand started a hospice to help people
with terminal illnesses. Nevertheless, federal
agents stormed her home and arrested her
and her husband.
8/12/2019 Drug Wars Viewers Guide
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Howdothesocialandhealt
heffectsofalcoholcompare
withtheeffectsofotherdru
gs?
Doyoufeelsomepeoplecan
usedrugsinawaythatdoes
notaffecttheirabilitytobe
productivemembersofsocie
ty?
Haveyoueverknownanyo
newhowenttoprisonfora
drugoffense?
Whatimpactdid
incarcerationhaveonthep
ersonandhis/herfamily?
Doyouknowanyonewhou
sesmarijuanaasamedicine
,orsomeone
whomightbenefitfromusi
ngmedicalmarijuana?
Wouldyousupportanatio
nwidelawthatallowedsick
peopletouse
medicalmarijuanawitha
doctorsrecommendation?D
oesyourstateallow
medicaluseofmarijuana?
Ifnot,doyouthinkitshoul
d?
Doyouthinkmarijuanash
ouldbemadelegal?Ifyes,w
ouldyourestrictitsuseatall?
Ifno,wouldyoureformany
thingaboutourdruglaws
makethemtougherorless
harsh?
Doyouthinkthewarond
rugsisworking?Isityour
sensethatdrugsarelessava
il-
ablethantheywere10yea
rsago?30yearsago?Isther
elessdrug-relatedcrimein
your
area?
Doyouthinkdruglawsareenfor
cedequallyamongpeopleof
differentracesand
incomelevelsinyourarea?Whatdoyouthinkyou
rlocalpolicesprioritiesshou
ldbe?
Howeffectiveislawenforce
mentatkeepingyourcomm
unitysafe?
Whatshouldtheguidingp
rinciplesandgoalsofourn
ationsdrugpolicybe?
Howcanweworktowardsu
chapolicy?
3
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RESOURCES
ORGANIZATION
S
AmericanCivil Libe
rtiesUnion www
.aclu.org/drugpol
icy
AmericansforSafe
Access www.saf
eaccessnow.org
Drug Policy Alliance www.d
rugpolicy.org
FamiliesAgainst M
andatoryMinimum
s www.famm.org
TheSentencing P
roject www.sente
ncingproject.org
StudentsforSensi
ble DrugPolicy w
ww.ssdp.org
BOOKS
Busted!DrugWarS
urvivalSkills:From
theBuytotheBus
ttoBeggingfor
Mercy,byM.Chris
Fabricantwithillu
strationsbyR.Cr
umb(HarperCollin
s)
DrugCrazy:HowW
eGotIntoThisMes
sandHowWeCanG
etOut,byMike
Gray(Routledge)
DrugWarPolitics:
ThePriceofDenial
,byEvaBertram,MorrisB
lachman,
KennethSharpea
ndPeterAndreas
(UniversityofCal
iforniaPress)
LifeontheOutside
:ThePrisonOdysse
yofElaineBartlett
,byJennifer
Gonnerman(Farra
r,StrausandGiro
ux)
Marihuana,theFor
biddenMedicine,b
yLesterGrinspoo
nandJames
Bakalar(YaleUniv
ersity)
Tulia:Race,Cocain
eandCorruptionin
aSmallTexasTow
n,byNate
Blakeslee(Public
Affairs)
Visitwww.aclu.org/dr
ugpolicyforfreep
ublications,sucha
sCaughtin
theNet:theImpactofDrugPolicies
onWomen&Fami
liesandMaking
SenseofStudentD
rugTesting:WhyEd
ucatorsAreSayingNo.
SPREADTHEWORDJointheProducersClub
BecomepartofanewwaveofinformationacTiVismbybringingTheACLUFreedomFilestoyourfriends,familyandcommunity.Signupatwww.aclu.tvtojointheProducersClub:HostascreeningorspreadthewordabouttheseriesviaemailortheWeb,andwellsendyouafreeDVDofthecurrentshowandgiveyoustep-by-stepadviceonhowtoorganizeanevent.
STAYTUNED
WatchTheACLUFreedomFiles
everymonthonCourtTVand
LinkTV.Theseriescanbeseen
onCourtTV(noonESTandPSTand11a.m.Centraland
Mountain),andonLinkTV
(DirecTVchannel375,andDISH
Networkchannel9410).Forthe
programscheduleortoorder
yourownDVDcopies,visit
www.aclu.tv.
Thepremiereseasonalso
includesepisodesonthePatrio
Act,theSupremeCourt,dissenracialprofiling,religious
freedom,votingrights,gay
andlesbianrights,youthand
womensrights.
VIEWERS GUIDE CREDITS
Concept: Active Voice
Writer/Editor: Wendy Blake
Strategic Graphic Design: Simon Does, LLC
Editorial Coordinator: Grace Eng
Freedom Files Project Director: Marsha Zeesman
Copyright 2006 ACLU Foundation. All Rights Reserved.6
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