FORCADE

In the years between 1967 and 1978 journalist and free speech advocate Thomas King Forcade embarked on a crusade to bring information about illicit and illegal drugs to the public. Through his many distribution channels, including numerous articles published in the Underground Press Syndicate and his own magazine High Times, his work paved the way for the current legalization and decriminalization efforts we are seeing today. Himself a drug smuggler and frequent user, under mounting pressure from all sides, he took his own life in Nov 1978 by self-inflicted gunshot wound, at the age of 33. An advocate for social reform and freedom of expression, he contributed to several organizations throughout his life, including large contributions made to The National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws (NORML), founded by Keith Stroup as well as PUNK magazine, headed by John Holstrom. Through this work, the first anti-Rockefeller laws were passed in 1976, under New York Governor Hugh Carey, decriminalizing small amounts of cannabis possession and introducing legislation to allow for supervised medical use, which were subsequently used as models for other state laws in the same vein, laws we are seeing revived today. Should Tom Forcade have survived, would the conversation around drugs have been normalized? Would the drug war have ended before the Reagan era crackdown? Would the influx of cocaine of the late 1970s and the subsequent inner city crack epidemic ever happened? And could the current prescription drug crisis, including that of opioid abuse be averted as well? What would our country and the world look like should Tom have lived to achieve some or all of his goals? These are some of the questions posed by this 4-part Limited Series, intended for a Cable Network or Streamer.

Tom Forcade was a highly complicated person. An Iconoclast and an unsung, unlikely hero he failed at many endeavors. He died and then fell somewhat quickly into obscurity. In fact, the New York Times did not publish his obituary although he was arguably the most successful publisher of the 70s aside from Larry Flynt and Hugh Hefner. TF was a weirdo and a genius. A sexually ambiguous megalomaniac who pierced both of his nipples before piercing was a thing. Both a gentleman and a menace. A bundle of walking contradictions. He absolutely hated authority, something he learned from his father, whose ancestors were pioneers. When everyone zigged, Tom zagged. When his father died at an early age, he rebelled from just about everything and probably never recovered from the loss. He valued personal freedom above all and hated when anyone tried to impose laws or rules on him. He saw government as the enemy and fought against social injustice. He chose decriminalization of illegal drugs and free speech as his way to fight oppression. He was never outwardly high or “fucked up” although he did suffer from sometimes public bouts of mania and depression. He worked very fast and got things done. He spoke eloquently, was extremely articulate and smart as hell. He knew business and had tested a genius as a child. Tom ran with the ball that was started with the avant-gardist of the 1920s (defying convention), the beat poets of the 50s (defying mores of the time) and then the free speech and freedom advocates of the 1960s and 70s (defying everything). Although he supported many causes, he ultimately thought they were all ineffective and valued anarchy as a more effective means of “waking up” the people. In the months before his death, he followed the Sex Pistols on their ill-fated (and only) tour of the US, attempting to make an unauthorized documentary film. People feared Tom and were jealous of him at the same time. He was intense and very smart and didn’t let people off the hook easily. He later became a self-made millionaire (although he gave most of his money away) and somewhat influential, although he never achieved the kind of acceptance he desperately desired. He could be very kind, but few saw this side of him, aside from his circle of lovers, women and perhaps one special man, his best friend Jack Combs; an ace pilot, and his most loyal confidante. After Jack's death in a plane crash during a smuggling run that Tom orchestrated, a decade of FBI surveillance, and facing federal charges for a massive drug bust, Tom decided to end it, on his own terms. The script is currently being developed with Groundswell Productions (Michael London, Shannon Gaulding producing), cooperation from High Times, and the full support of the Forcade family estate.