'TRAFFIC' POSES MANY TOUGH DRUG QUESTIONS

If you believe the solution to illegal drugs is to make them all legal,
have I got a movie for you. If you believe the solution is more punishment,
I have a movie for you, too.

"Traffic" and "Traffic."

Remember in high school how "educational" film strips meant nap time?
"Traffic" is an educational movie that might keep you up at night.

The movie covers the drug problem from many angles. There are the suppliers
interested in making a buck, who get rich responding to demand. There are
corrupt Mexican cops and good-guy Mexican cops. There are American
government officials, who acknowledge it's not a fair fight since the
Mexican dealers have more money to work with. There are treatment programs,
with mixed results.

The star, Michael Douglas, the new federal drug czar from an upscale
neighborhood who is naive enough to think he may be on to finding answers,
not knowing his daughter is cooking up crack cocaine in her bedroom and
turning tricks in downtown flophouses.

Who wants you to see the movie?

Conservative U.S. senators Orrin Hatch and Don Nickles play themselves in
the movie, which stars Douglas, a card-carrying member of the Hollywood
liberal elite. The White House and U.S. Customs are also thanked for their
help - although the White House cannot be too happy when the movie suggests
NAFTA has made the import of drugs easier.

The last great movie to have something for everyone was "Dead Man Walking,"
which had supporters and opponents of the death penalty leaving the movie,
saying, "See, that's why I believe in (choose either side)."

In his attempt to get at the truth, director Steven Sonderbergh is not
concerned with political correctness and does seem to worry about racial
profiling. With two exceptions, all his Mexicans are shifty, and with one
exception all blacks are dealers. His ultimate buyers of product are rich,
bored white kids, which is something many rich, white parents know to be true.

Several years ago, I saw a scene of this drama happen in real life when
visiting a friend in Elizabeth. Across the street was a notorious crack
house, and on the night of my visit, we saw a young white boy being chased
out of the house and into his Camaro by a black man with a machete, and
then called the cops.

An Elizabeth cop told me the scene fit a familiar pattern. White kids from
the Lindens, Cranfords and Westfields drive cars their daddies bought them
and shop for illegal drugs in the city, and sometimes sales get hairy,
which explained the machete. A few years later, the crack house was
destroyed by fire.

The only thing warm and fuzzy about "Traffic" is when the good Mexican cop
helps provide lights, so kids can play baseball all hours of the night.
Unfortunately, the movie takes more than two hours to get there.