Part of BBC America Reveals.
Colombia now accounts for 62% of the world's cocaine
production, a trade the UN estimates to be worth $70
billion worldwide. Today, cocaine has overtaken coffee as
Colombia's top export, producing over 610 metric tons
a year.
In this very personal documentary, former cocaine addict
Alex James, bassist of Britpop band Blur, travels to
Colombia under invitation of the Colombian president to
see first-hand what the cocaine industry is doing to the
country and its people. With near-unrestricted access, Alex
meets the farmers, the sellers, and the enforcers. And Alex learns that the toll is staggering: after admitting he spent a million pounds on cocaine during the height of Blur's fame, he discovers that a gram of
cocaine sells on the Colombian streets for just £1.00 and
is the cause of 17,000 murders every year in Colombia.
Here, cocaine and violence are inextricable. As
Alex himself finds out: "It's a long way from a cheeky line at
a dinner party. It's terrifying."
|