The Fix on Roku debunks the lies perpetuated by the war on drugs

Tougher drug penalties are leading to a record number of incarcerations, but the data shows the current system has had no impact on addiction — nor on reducing the availability of illicit drugs.

“There has to be a better way,” asks a new series about Roku.

The Roku Channel will be releasing a brand new Roku Original, The Fix, on Friday, January 21st. Actor Samuel L. Jackson narrates the eight-part docuseries based on the New York Times bestseller Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the Drug War, written by Johann Hari. The book was translated into 15 languages ​​as his second bestseller. Hari joined the project as executive producer.

If Hari’s name sounds familiar, his popular TED talk “Everything You Know About Addiction Is Wrong” might sound familiar. Why don’t most people who are given strong opioids after surgery become junkies? What is really addicting? Are the substances actually the problem or something else?

Hari, who graduated with honors from Cambridge, argues that locking people up in jail doesn’t help get to the root of addiction, nor does the system work. The series was directed by Jeremiah Zagar, along with Nathan Caswell, Cassidy Gearhart and Josh Banville, and produced by Public Record, Jeff Hays Films and Story Syndicate. Hari served as executive producers along with Jeff Hays, Jeremiah Zagar, Jeremy Yaches, Dan Cogan, Jon Bardin, Liz Garbus, and Geralyn White Dreyfous.

“What if the script we know so well didn’t really protect us?” Jackson suggests in the trailer.

“Almost everything we think we know about drugs as a society is wrong,” Jeremiah Zagar, director of The Fix, said in a statement. “The United States has waged the war on drugs for decades, but the painful consequences of addiction continue to have a rampant impact on our communities. Roku Original The Fix boldly tackles this issue by debunking common misconceptions about drugs and providing alternative approaches to addiction. Audiences will leave The Fix with a clearer understanding of how we can combat this complex crisis.”

The War on Drugs hasn’t made us any safer, the series argues. “The homicide rate has actually gone up” since the start of the war on drugs, says a commenter during the trailer.

We’ve known for over 10 years that the War on Drugs had failed to solve the problem of addiction. “The arrest and imprisonment of tens of millions of these people over the past few decades has filled prisons and destroyed lives and families without reducing the availability of illegal drugs or the power of criminal organizations,” concludes the Global Commission on Drug Policy 2011 report. Most People know that US drug policy through the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs greatly influences global politics.

The team at Roku hopes to be part of the conversation as the US slowly takes a look at drug reform — particularly in the cannabis reform legislation.

Brian Tannenbaum is Roku’s Head of Alternative Originals. “We strive to tell bold stories that both entertain and inform our audience,” said Tannenbaum. “Roku Original documentaries like The Fix do just that, lifting the curtain and teaching viewers something new about major cultural issues. We look forward to bringing the eye-opening stories to audiences in The Fix in January.”

Some families with family members who are addicted to drugs believe that being in prison will force them to get clean. Not necessarily. The Marshall Project has highlighted the overdose crisis in US prisons. That’s right – they still have access to drugs once they get in. So the question arises – what exactly is the point of locking up drug addicts?

Also check out Hari’s book, Stolen Focus, which critics labeled “dangerous.”

Post a comment:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *