In 2007, Italian police make an astonishing discovery during a raid on a Mafia boss’ villa: a list of the Mafia’s most sacred laws. It’s an incredible find: a code of conduct for the Mob. Now, for the first time, former Mobsters speak out about the rules that govern their criminal world; and reveal what [...]

Dancing with the Devil: Fighting the drug trade in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas are rife with drugs, violence and murder. Dancing with the Devil, co-produced by Tom Phillips, the Guardian’s correspondent in Brazil, offers a rare insight into the murky underworld.

Alcohol is by far the most widely used drug – and a dangerous one at that. So why are so many of us drinking over the recommended limits? Why does alcohol have such a powerful grip on us? How much of our relationship with this drug is written in our genes? What are the real [...]

Penn and Teller, two American comedians, have had an ongoing series on Showtime titled “Penn and Teller: Bullshit” for several years. In each show they dispute modern controversies throughout world societies with fact, humor, and interviews with experts on each particular show’s subject. This episode, “The War On Drugs” highlights the American war between anti-drug [...]

Narrated by Colin Friels and produced by Chris Hilton, Afghanistan: Drugs, Guns and Money asks these difficult questions by following the journey of this years opium crops, tracing the drug trafficking routes heading north from Afghanistan through the nations of the Old Silk Road on its way to Europe. The film examines who are the [...]

Evidence from Switzerland suggests that prescribing heroin can reduce crime and increase levels of employment among addicts. While still illegal in the UK, cannabis was downgraded to a category C drug in January 2004. Would drug legalisation really reduce crime overall, and would it make drug use any safer? Based on rigorous research and interviews [...]

As a bright schoolboy from a loving, middle-class family Ben Rogers was expected to make a success of his life. Raised in a quiet, picturesque village Ben was a Boy Scout, loved cricket, played in the school orchestra and looked forward to the annual family holiday. But despite his privileged start in life Ben found [...]

What does a family have to endure to create a future for itself? In April 2000, Alex White Plume and his Lakota family planted industrial hemp on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota after other crops had failed. They put their hopes for a sustainable economy in hemp’s hardiness and a booming worldwide demand [...]

This documentary covers a whole lot of ground. It deals with every historical and contemporary aspect of hemp usage and cultivation (mainly in the U.S.), which turns out to be a lot. From describing the production of a fibre much more durable and economic than wood, the documentary discusses hemps multilateral uses as e.g. food [...]