Although a segment of the ‘Freeway Ricky Ross” story winds through Cincinnati, Ohio, I was not familiar it. Ross is of one of America’s most successful drug traffickers. At one point, officials said Ross was worth $1 billion.
My interest in the roughly 2-hour documentary, though, is it offers a peak into the devastation caused by the ‘War of Drugs’ implemented by Ronald Reagan. (That ‘war’ help lead to Preble County’s economic demise, but I digress).
The film follows two basic narratives: the rise and fall of Ricky Ross and a background story — independent of Ross — that explores allegations of drug money being used, indirectly, by the Reagan administration to fund the Contras in Central America. This plotline is a little more complicated, but it is relevant, because Ross’ main supplier of cocaine was an individual funding the Contras.
In the documentary, Ross is portrayed as an amoral entrepreneur who surrounds himself with neighborhood and childhood acquaintances. He defies stereotypes as he eschews violence, helps his friends become wealthy, and takes a business approach to the trade. He simply sells an extremely large quantity of the highly-addicted product as a path to wealth.
This story line is engaging, intriguing, and offers a look at the societal, and political, forces that created a perfect storm for the drug’s acceptance.
Just importantly, though, is Ross’ new life. After spending 20 years in prison, the formerly illiterate Ross learn to read, write and became an activist — speaking out against drug use — and the “War on Drug” approach to addiction which left communities and families in ruin while spawning the prison industrial complex.
My Rating 4 out of 5: The film has it all: corrupt cops, reformed drug dealers, and a wide range of savory and unsavory characters. It gives a very detailed look at the drug scene in California and parts of the Midwest. My only qualm with the film is the Contra storyline. Although the Contra story and Ross’ story are intertwined, I would have preferred a Part One/Part Two scenario so the Contra story could be developed more fully.
Charlie R. Claywell 