George Jung

George Jung is an iconic figure of the Cocaine movement of the 1970’s and 1980’s. Working in conjunction with the infamous Medellin Cartel, they were responsible for nearly 85% of the smuggled Cocaine that made it to the United States during that time period. His life story was portrayed in the popular 2001 movie, Blow, by Johnny Depp.

George Jung came from a working middle class family that lived in Boston and, while he did not excel at academics, he was a natural leader and a star football player. He graduated and went to college to pursue a degree in advertising. Instead of graduating with a degree, he began smuggling Marijuana from California back up to New England. As he and his childhood friend, Phillip Sadler, and his girlfriend, who was a stewardess began to search for ways to make more money and increase their drug business, they began to smuggle Marijuana from Mexico using stolen planes. Before being arrested for his Marijuana drug trade, he and his business partners were reported to be bringing in a whopping $250,000 a month.

Jail time for George Jung only increased his knowledge and understanding of the drug world and gained him bigger connections. Once his former cellmate, Carlos Lehder, introduced him to the Medellin Cartel where he began to smuggle Cocaine to the United States from the Colombian ranch of the infamous Pablo Escobar. Eventually, the millions that George Jung was making as the middle man was not enough for him so he came up with a plan to increase his business again and move up from being the middle man. By using a number of single-engine airplanes as his transportation, he was able to increase his earnings to an average $15 million a run from Colombia to California. This was the peak of George Jung’s business and his fame and fortune.

As with any drug story, the spiral that led to his incarceration began as his friend and partner, Carlos Lehder, cut Jung out of the business. Although Jung continued to smuggle drugs, his profits were diminishing. He was eventually arrested in 1987, but he skipped bail. Typical of anyone involved in drugs, he could not stay away. After becoming involved with another drug deal, he was betrayed and set up by an old acquaintance. Again, in 1994, after cleaning up his life, he got involved in smuggling drugs. Again, he got caught and is still incarcerated.

No matter how glamorous the drug world may seem, the story is always the same, no matter if you are at the top of the drug chain, or the bottom. George Jung’s story is not one of a kind. It is actually the typical rise and fall story of many that are involved in drugs. A Forever Recovery has heard the story of drugs and addiction many times and the staff all understand how easy it is to get pulled into this world. A Forever Recovery provides solace for those that are suffering from drug abuse and addiction and provides hope through addiction treatment. If you or a loved one has found your life spiraling out of control because of addiction, please call A Forever Recovery for help.

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