Drug Smugglers' Party Days A Prelude To War
by NPR STAFF
Courtesy of Les Riley
Jason Ryan's new book chronicles the lives of "gentlemen smugglers" Barry Foy and Les Riley, seen here with Wally Butler after a fishing expedition.
Forty years ago this month, President Richard Nixon officially introduced something he called the "War on Drugs." A decade later, Ronald Reagan launched it as a national crusade, with the memorable slogan "Just Say No."
Since then, though, the Obama administration has jettisoned the term "war on drugs," and this past week, the Global Commission on Drug Policy issued a report calling the crusade a failure.
But back in the 1970s, the U.S. fight against drugs — especially marijuana — wasn't a war at all. In fact, for the "gentlemen smugglers" bringing bales of pot and bricks of hash into Florida and South Carolina, it was a nonstop party. Mostly college-educated and averse to violence, they were in it for fun more than money — though the money didn't hurt.
"Beautiful sailboats, beautiful women, plenty of recreational drugs, it couldn't get much better from their perspective," journalist Jason Ryan tells weekends on All Things Considered guest host Rachel Martin. Ryan has written a new book about the glory days of the gentleman smugglers, Jackpot: High Times, High Seas, and the Sting That Launched the War on Drugs.
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