HEAVY 'TRAFFIC'

"Inspired by a miniseries that aired on British television in 1989,
'Traffic' weaves together three loosely intersecting story-lines into a
portrait that, in the end, is less about any of the film's characters than
about the drug problem as a whole, from its impact on families to its place
in our national politics. . . .

"As a number of critics have emphasized in their acclaim for 'Traffic' . .
. the movie's merits are not just of the artistic variety. 'Traffic,' they
insist, carries a sorely needed message.

"For Jonathan Alter of Newsweek, it effectively dramatizes 'the basic
staleness of our national debate on drug policy.' In the New York Times,
Stephen Holden praised its 'coolly scathing overview of the
multibillion-dollar drug trade and the largely futile war that is being
waged against it.' . . .

"No less pleased by 'Traffic' have been the advocates of legalizing . . .
drugs. The Lindesmith Center, whose primary backer, the billionaire George
Soros, has funded ballot initiatives across the country aimed at repealing
various drug laws, has even devoted a state-of-the-art Web site to the
film, complete with a video game and prizes.

"As Ethan Nadelmann, the group's executive director, explained, 'The movie
got people stirred up and got them thinking - we hope to inspire them to
get involved.' "