The war against drugs is one of the greatest frauds perpetrated upon modern societies. As the second largest trading commodity on earth, drugs are the basis of most economies in the world today. They enrich the banks, make a farce of the judicial systems everywhere, and destroy all democratic institutions.

SOCIETIES UNDER THE INFLUENCE sheds light on several unusual people who are fighting to expose the epidemic repression surrounding drugs and the drug trade. Exploited Colombian field workers explain how little money they make compared to the amount US dealers make. A hitman for influential drug lords details the pervasive corruption in our legal system. And a retired US federal government agent suggests that if America stopped buying drugs, there would be a national banking crisis.

This film posits the argument that the "morally and politically correct" drug war we read about in our newspapers everyday is a corrupt and pernicious front that protects our judicial system, big business, organized crime and American foreign agendas. With heady proposals and daring testimony, SOCIETIES UNDER THE INFLUENCE reveals the real story that the media dare not tell.

"Highly Recommended! Powerful and thought provoking, this documentary film opens a dialogue of international proportion. Takes a hard look at the marihuana, hashish and cocaine policies of several nations to give an overarching worldview of drugs. Filmed on location in New York, Amsterdam, Colombia and Canada, the viewer is exposed to the legal, financial, economic, moral, political and personal ways drugs dominate our world societies. The juxtaposition between the cultures and societies, and the action of the selected persons' dialogues and interviews in this excellently edited film are highly engaging. The subject content is for high school and up."—Educational Media Reviews Online