Sam Brown's Story on The Fifth Estate

cam@nsmb.com · 11-13-2009, 01:29 AM

The entire doc. is now online at the link below.

Click here to watch

On February 23, 2009, 24-year-old Sam Brown of British Columbia was arrested by U.S. authorities in Washington State as he landed a helicopter he had piloted across the border. Sam's crime: he was attempting to smuggle almost 200 kilograms of marijuana,"B.C. Bud”. Only a few days after his arrest, Sam hanged himself in his jail cell. In Over the Edge, Linden MacIntyre takes us into the world of drug smuggling in B.C. and the role in it of young people like Sam Brown.

Sam was an extreme sports enthusiast, who thrived on the adrenaline of risk taking. He grew up in the B.C. interior, living in Nelson, where the flourishing mountain biking scene offered him new challenges. Rugged and picturesque, Nelson is a hotbed for the young and unconventional, a magnet for extreme sports enthusiasts—and a centre for the lucrative, underground marijuana industry.

The homegrown pot, “B.C. Bud”, pours billions of illegal dollars into local economies in B.C. Huge demand for the drug has allowed Nelson to ride out normal economic swings. But “B.C. Bud” also fuels a multi-billion dollar criminal enterprise on B.C.’s lower mainland and the United States, sustained largely by a core group of thrill-seekers like Sam—young people who smuggle drugs for the sheer high of the risk and their addiction to the money.

In Over the Edge, the fifth estate reconstructs Sam’s final smuggling mission. Linden MacIntyre speaks with a former smuggler who recruited Sam into that world. Viewers will also hear from his sisters and father, still grappling with the circumstances of his arrest and his death, as well as Sam’s American lawyers, some of the last people to speak with him before he took his life.

nick · 11-13-2009, 01:47 AM

so much wasted talent...

The Dan Jones · 11-13-2009, 03:30 AM

Second articale I have read to day around that subject

http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/11/12/...enre-explodes/

check out this link.

Can't say I really support this idea, I get the feeling a Hollywood (Canadian picture) would really make this matter too simpathetic. Or change to story way too much.

blacksheep · 11-14-2009, 05:44 AM

Doco looks good. Never knew he's was half Kiwi, RIP Sam.

joefromthesoo · 11-14-2009, 07:40 AM

"Drug smuggling is an extreme sport for these guys"

yeah i rip up the trails for a while, then smuggle drugs into the united states. its part of the DH/DS lifestyle.
maybe its out of context but thats how i took it.

Banshee Brown · 11-14-2009, 08:12 AM

There was some awkward dialogue in that story "driving a bicyle down a mountain" = facepalm

joefromthesoo · 11-14-2009, 09:00 AM

heh yeah i caught that

menehune · 11-14-2009, 05:07 PM

RIP sam.

sounds like there's more to the end of your story than initially thought.

hypa · 11-14-2009, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by menehune

sounds like there's more to the end of your story than initially thought.

There always is.

I PVR'd this last night, and want to watch it today. I'm curious how many differences there are between the 5th estate story, and the Rolling Stone article.

roy · 11-14-2009, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by menehune

RIP sam.

sounds like there's more to the end of your story than initially thought.

weird, I didn't get that from it at all, it played out pretty much like we had all read before. Not really any new information.

hypa · 11-16-2009, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roy

weird, I didn't get that from it at all, it played out pretty much like we had all read before. Not really any new information.

Pretty much.
Still a sad story though.

Bryce · 11-16-2009, 10:11 PM

that was pretty cheesy

toward the end they made a comment about young adventurous people having their lives ruined by the US war on drugs and minimum sentencing. I didn't expect that, nor do I really agree with it.

HIBuLlitT · 11-16-2009, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryce

that was pretty cheesy

toward the end they made a comment about young adventurous people having their lives ruined by the US war on drugs and minimum sentencing. I didn't expect that, nor do I really agree with it.

I don't agree with the ruining adventurous young peoples lives because you
know what you're getting into when you cross that line. My father spent a lot of my/his
life in prison as I was growing up. Every time I thought about getting into that
kind of business he always said "If you can't do the time don't do the crime". I
thought it was just him repeating Baretta, but it stuck with me, and it is the full
truth.

On the other hand, the mentality of the US law enforcement agencies and the US
government as a whole is archaic and rooted in myth and hidden agendas.

While Sam was a really good bike rider, and probably a good 'bro', he knew what
he was doing. It's a shame he did what he did, so much promise thrown away.

cam@nsmb.com · 11-17-2009, 01:09 AM

Considering this was from a major network - for Canada at least - I thought they did a very good job. (I don't have the same confidence in Jason Priestley.)

I would have liked to have known more though.

How many times and for how long was Sam questioned after he was taken into custody?
Were those interrogations taped? I'd bet he wasn't treated very well by the DEA.
What about the questionable record of the Spokane jail?
Why wasn't Sam allowed to make a phone call?

the Master Plan Dan · 11-17-2009, 01:22 AM

The DEA is dead against Pot.

My dad is a retired Metro Toronto Police Office and had to deal with them on some occasions and they are hardliners.

Even he couldn't understand how so much cocaine floated around and they seemed to over look that, but get caught with pot... Wow!

There was no telling what they would do.

Unfortunately we will never know what happened during his time in the jail. Pretty bad I imagine considered he took his own life.

Dan

11-13-2009, 01:29 AM	#1
cam@nsmb.com administurbator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The North Shore Posts: 8,427 Rep Power: 666	Sam Brown's Story on The Fifth Estate The entire doc. is now online at the link below. Click here to watch On February 23, 2009, 24-year-old Sam Brown of British Columbia was arrested by U.S. authorities in Washington State as he landed a helicopter he had piloted across the border. Sam's crime: he was attempting to smuggle almost 200 kilograms of marijuana,"B.C. Bud”. Only a few days after his arrest, Sam hanged himself in his jail cell. In Over the Edge, Linden MacIntyre takes us into the world of drug smuggling in B.C. and the role in it of young people like Sam Brown. Sam was an extreme sports enthusiast, who thrived on the adrenaline of risk taking. He grew up in the B.C. interior, living in Nelson, where the flourishing mountain biking scene offered him new challenges. Rugged and picturesque, Nelson is a hotbed for the young and unconventional, a magnet for extreme sports enthusiasts—and a centre for the lucrative, underground marijuana industry. The homegrown pot, “B.C. Bud”, pours billions of illegal dollars into local economies in B.C. Huge demand for the drug has allowed Nelson to ride out normal economic swings. But “B.C. Bud” also fuels a multi-billion dollar criminal enterprise on B.C.’s lower mainland and the United States, sustained largely by a core group of thrill-seekers like Sam—young people who smuggle drugs for the sheer high of the risk and their addiction to the money. In Over the Edge, the fifth estate reconstructs Sam’s final smuggling mission. Linden MacIntyre speaks with a former smuggler who recruited Sam into that world. Viewers will also hear from his sisters and father, still grappling with the circumstances of his arrest and his death, as well as Sam’s American lawyers, some of the last people to speak with him before he took his life.

11-17-2009, 01:22 AM	#15
the Master Plan Dan Dude-Brah-Dude Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 4,557 Rep Power: 458168	The DEA is dead against Pot. My dad is a retired Metro Toronto Police Office and had to deal with them on some occasions and they are hardliners. Even he couldn't understand how so much cocaine floated around and they seemed to over look that, but get caught with pot... Wow! There was no telling what they would do. Unfortunately we will never know what happened during his time in the jail. Pretty bad I imagine considered he took his own life. Dan __________________ www.steedcycles.com

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11-13-2009, 01:47 AM	#2
nick www.epiccyclist.com Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: north shore Posts: 1,502 Rep Power: 829891	so much wasted talent...

11-13-2009, 03:30 AM	#3
The Dan Jones Lazy by most accounts Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: The C O Q Posts: 84 Rep Power: 0	Second articale I have read to day around that subject http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/11/12/...enre-explodes/ check out this link. Can't say I really support this idea, I get the feeling a Hollywood (Canadian picture) would really make this matter too simpathetic. Or change to story way too much.

11-14-2009, 05:44 AM	#4
blacksheep Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Location: Deep Cove Posts: 163 Rep Power: 18238	Doco looks good. Never knew he's was half Kiwi, RIP Sam.

11-14-2009, 07:40 AM	#5
joefromthesoo Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: burnaby Posts: 283 Rep Power: 366058	"Drug smuggling is an extreme sport for these guys" yeah i rip up the trails for a while, then smuggle drugs into the united states. its part of the DH/DS lifestyle. maybe its out of context but thats how i took it.

11-14-2009, 08:12 AM	#6
Banshee Brown Chris Brown Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Calgary,AB Posts: 90 Rep Power: 0	There was some awkward dialogue in that story "driving a bicyle down a mountain" = facepalm

11-14-2009, 09:00 AM	#7
joefromthesoo Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: burnaby Posts: 283 Rep Power: 366058	heh yeah i caught that

11-16-2009, 10:11 PM	#12
Bryce Registered Abuser Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: high as f%*k Posts: 6,983 Rep Power: 3139475	that was pretty cheesy toward the end they made a comment about young adventurous people having their lives ruined by the US war on drugs and minimum sentencing. I didn't expect that, nor do I really agree with it.

11-17-2009, 01:09 AM	#14
cam@nsmb.com administurbator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The North Shore Posts: 8,427 Rep Power: 666	Considering this was from a major network - for Canada at least - I thought they did a very good job. (I don't have the same confidence in Jason Priestley.) I would have liked to have known more though. How many times and for how long was Sam questioned after he was taken into custody? Were those interrogations taped? I'd bet he wasn't treated very well by the DEA. What about the questionable record of the Spokane jail? Why wasn't Sam allowed to make a phone call?