The story of Idi Amin, horrific addict and his codependent doctor, (relatively) benign alcoholic
"The Last King of Scotland"
An extraordinary contrast of relatively benign and extremely non-benign addiction
Somewhere in my first book, Drunks, Drugs & Debits, I remarked that it's impossible to understand history and current events without comprehending alcoholism. The history of the Dark Continent is perhaps the shining example where this couldn't be more true, yet for which we have little hard evidence. Where evidence of actual use does exist, it consists of a ten-second scene in a partially fictionalized two-hour account of a despot and his enablers.
Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, magnificently played by Forest Whitaker, is accurately portrayed as a monster with numerous behavioral indications of substance addiction. He was mercurial, charming, narcissistic and charismatic, a combination of attributes common among ...
