Name: Pay-Off In Pain
Genre: Documentary
Released: 1948-08-18
Duration: 11 min
Rating: 7

Pay-Off In Pain

The personal and social tragedy of drug addiction with its evil accompaniment, drug traffic. Over the side of the silent liner in the darkness slips the package of smuggled narcotics, introducing us to the complex problem which involves all races and classes of man. We see many aspects of addiction - the addict preparing an injection, a group waiting tensely for their dope peddler; agents preparing and adulterating the illegal product; the police catching a pusher red-handed. International and national authorities are working from two angles - suppression of the illicit traffic; and where possible, rehabilitation of the addict.

Documentary

DirectorRobert Anderson

WriterJohn K. Rooke

StatusReleased

LanguageEnglish

Release DateAugust 18, 1948

Runtime11m

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

February 5, 20245/10

A newsreel-style Canadian documentary looking at burgeoning drug addiction on the North American continent. Drugs that sell for $50 in India can retail on the streets at home for $15,000 - clearly a motivation for those that smuggle to the plentiful addicts. Many people who use find themselves caught in a vicious circle of crime to fund their habit. The dealers and peddlars make a fortune and organised crime ensures the frequently diluted narcotics are well and easily distributed. The law has little resource to combat this increasingly lucrative trade with some spending up to $30 per day for their opiate fix. Cocaine is also gaining in popularity - but should it be banned. Are addicts criminals or sick people? This is clearly designed to warn the audience of the dangers of drugs. It draws somewhat simplistic associations between dependency and violence, hallucinations, mental illness - all with a score that wouldn't sound out of place in a horror film. Can the signing of the UN Narcotics control protocol help solve this global problem. Is jail an answer? Are "useful citizens" being thrown into the prison system needlessly? Questions we ask now - and there are still no magic answers.