The Gentlemen Smugglers: Marijuana Outlaw Sailors of the 1970s

They shunned violence, enlisted their friends, and perfected the art of enjoying the scam. As the operation grew beyond the smuggler’s wildest dreams, the foot soldiers in President Reagan’s War on Drugs quietly set their sites on the outlaw sailors.

This isn’t a story of hit men, mobsters, cocaine cowboys or cartels. The Gentlemen Smugglers built a multi-million dollar marijuana smuggling empire over the course of a decade, living by their own moral code. The government saw marijuana as the gateway drug to an exploding crack cocaine problem. The Gentlemen Smugglers, and presently the majority of this country, couldn’t disagree more. With a zest for life and a healthy sense of humor, the smugglers rewrote the rulebook on marijuana trafficking. Based on the Wall Street Journal best selling book 'JACKPOT' by Jason Ryan. 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. Most were from the south, and strangers to the lifestyle the smuggling operation suddenly afforded them. Some opted to hide the money and live quietly, but most did not. They lived large and enjoyed the fruits of their marijuana labor. 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 epidemic 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. Said Gentlemen Smuggler Kingpin Les Riley, “I only saw marijuana as a way of having a good time and getting hungry.”