War on Drugs: Prison Industrial Complex

The Illinois Chapter of NORML (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Law) and Leon Bailey professor of Sociology at Roosevelt University will be presenting the movie War on Drugs: The Prison Industrial Complex as a part of the Radical Film Series @ Multikulti.

The U.S. has the largest prison population on the planet with more than 2.3 million people currently incarcerated! Although the U.S. has only 5% of the worl...d's population it has 25% of the world's inmates. This staggeringly high number of prisoners is mostly due to the "war on drugs" and the arrest of nonviolent drug offenders which make up the majority of prisoners. Behind the scenes are private corporations lobbying for "mandatory minimum sentences" for nonviolent offenders in order to profit in this multi-billion dollar industry.

Doors open at 7 PM, movie starts at 7:30PM.

$3 suggested donation, no one turned away

PRESENTED BY:
Illinois NORML
http://www.illinoisnorml.o​ rg/
http://www.facebook.com/pa​ ges/Illinois-chapter-of-NO​RML/178892028667

ABOUT THE FILM:
War on Drugs: The Prison Industrial Complex

The war on drugs has been going on for more than three decades. Today, nearly 500,000 Americans are imprisoned on drug charges. In 1980 the number was 50,000. Last year $40 billion in taxpayer dollars were spent in fighting the war on drugs.

As a result of the incarceration obsession, the United States operates the largest prison system on the planet, and the U.S. nonviolent prisoner population is larger than the combined populations of Wyoming and Alaska. Try to imagine the Drug Enforcement Administration erecting razor wire barricades around two states to control crime and you'll get the picture.

According to the U.S. Dept of Justice, the number of offenders under age 18 imprisoned for drug offenses increased twelve fold from 1985 to 1997. The group most affected by this propensity for incarceration is African-Americans. From 1985 to 1997, the percentage of African-American young people put in prison increased from 53 to 62 percent.

Today, 89 percent of police departments have paramilitary units, and 46 percent have been trained by active duty armed forces. The most common use of paramilitary units is serving drug-related search warrants, which usually involve no-knock entries into private homes.

ABOUT THE RADICAL FILM SERIES @ MULTIKULTI:

Multikulti is launching a Radical Film Series in August to screen riveting documentary films that focus on pressing social issues people need to be informed about in order to truly understand what's going on in the world today.

Each week at Multikulti, we will feature at least 2 documentary films that are an absolute "must see" for getting the broader perspective on the world in which we live.

Radical means to "get to the root" of a problem and fix the origin of distress by eradicating the cause of conflict.

Films featured in the Radical Film Series will raise awareness of vitally important issues that need to be addressed and present solutions that inspire people to get together as a community, take action to resolve these conflicts, and work in solidarity to restore social justice.

Subjects will focus upon issues such as war, militarization, capitalism, media propaganda, free speech, heath insurance, pharmaceutical companies, environmental destruction, oil, lobbying, elections, democracy, banking, the monetary system, prisons, the drug war, 9/11, the war on terror, government secrets...and more!

Each film will be presented by local activists and grassroots organizations that are working on the pertaining issues.

Afterward there will be a group discussion that engages people to participate and share ideas.

The Radical Film Series gives attendants a chance to get informed of new perspectives by sensational new media that is both educational and entertaining, while creating a community presence of like minded people who are interested in making a positive change.

$3 suggested donation, no one turned away for lack of funds

Please let us know if you have any suggestions for documentary films that you would like to be screened in the Radical Film Series or if your organization would like to participate.