Raw Opium

Raw Opium is a 2011 documentary film and two-part TV series produced by Robert Lang of Kensington Communications, directed by Peter Findlay and written by Peter Findlay and Robert Lang. The documentary examines the worldwide opium trade, and the vast criminal and public health issues that have arisen alongside.

Raw Opium is a journey around the world and through time, where conflicting forces do battle over the narcotic sap of the opium poppy. From an opium master in southeast Asia to a UN drug enforcement officer on the border of Afghanistan hunting down the smugglers of central Asia; from a former Indian government Drug Czar and opium farmer to a crusading Vancouver doctor and Portuguese street worker who daily confront the realities of drug addiction.

We see how this flower has played, and continues to play, a pivotal role – not just in the lives of people who grow, manufacture and use it – but also in the increasingly tense sphere of international relations. In the process, our assumptions about addiction and the War on Drugs are challenged.

Raw Opium

Promotional poster
Directed by Peter Findlay
Produced by Robert Lang
Written by Peter Findlay, Robert Lang
Distributed by Kensington Communications
Release date(s) 2011
Running time 84 minutes
Country Canada, India, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Portugal
Language English

Read more about Raw Opium:  Production Credits, Filming Locations, People in The Documentary, Screenings, Broadcasts

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