CITY LIGHTS: OUR CRITICS' PICKS FOR THE WEEK

18 TUESDAY

In the United States, as posturing congressmen rant in Jan Thielen's
documentary Coca Mama: The War on Drugs, children are dying in the streets
because of drugs. The DEA's answer? Dumping poisons over the Andes that
kill coca plants, as well as trees, fish, animals, other cash crops--and
children. If that doesn't add up, neither does the rest of the ineffectual
"war on drugs," which hasn't decreased the cultivation of cocaine or its
flow into this country. This award-winning hourlong film concentrates on
Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia--where some regard coca as sacred and others
see it as the only way to make a living--and it traces those countries'
militarized anti-drug policies to the U.S. government. The film screens as
part of a documentary teach-in, which also features a short talk by Kevin
Zeese, president of Common Sense for Drug Policy. The program begins at 7
p.m. at Visions Cinema Bistro Lounge, 1927 Florida Ave. NW. $6.50. (202)
667-0090.