An Improbable True Story.
Extraordinary Characters.

The Gentleman Smugglers

This isn’t a story of hit men, mobsters, cocaine cowboys, or cartels. The Gentlemen Smugglers built a multi-million-dollar marijuana empire over the course of a decade, living by their own moral code. They shunned violence, enlisted friends, and perfected the art of enjoying the scam.

But while the party raged down south, the foot soldiers in President Reagan’s War on Drugs quietly targeted The Gentlemen Smugglers in a task force they coined “Operation Jackpot.” The government saw marijuana as the gateway drug to an exploding crack cocaine problem and was determined to bring down the southern dealers. Meanwhile, the smugglers went about their business, following their own ethical standards, with a less fatalistic view of weed.