Jay Z in New York Times Op-Ed Video: “The War on Drugs Is an Epic Fail”

Jay Z has narrated a short film critiquing U.S. drug policy since the 1970s, in a new video op-ed for the New York Times. Animated by Molly Crabapple and based on a proposition by Dream Hampton, the film begins its narrative with the Reagan era. Jay, who wrote the script, laments Reagan’s renewed focus on the so-called war on drugs, as well as the conservative social policy that ran alongside it. Of the country’s mid-80s ideology, Jay says, “Drugs were bad, fried your brain, and drug dealers were monsters, the sole reason neighborhoods and major cities were failing. No one wanted to talk about Reaganomics and the ending of social safety nets.” He goes on to detail how U.S. drug policy goes hand-in-hand with racial discrimination. He notes a positive shift toward treatment of drug addiction as a health issue, before concluding, “The war on drugs is an epic fail.” Watch it below.

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