Created for the series, this film ventures into remote jungle in Dutch New Guinea to examine the isolated Dani tribe, and the Dutch government's plan to educate the indigenous populations for Papuan independence.

Created for the series, this film revisits Dutch New Guinea.

Dutch New Guinea was a territory of the Kingdom of Netherlands from 1949 to 1962.

Explores Mahayana Bodhisattva Buddhism in the context of the 1959 revolt inside Tibet and among Tibetan refugees in northern Nepal. The film examines the problems caused by the Communist invasion and the violent strains appearing within Tibet Buddhism as it tries to adapt to a modern environment. Includes sequences of the Dalai Lama in exile and of Tibetan refugees in Kathmandu.

An examination of Theravada meditation in Thailand. The practice produces a passive mentality, suited to a peasant society. The problem for Buddhism in 1966 is how to change this to a practice that can commit itself to a struggle with Communism in the material urban life.

An examination of Soka Gakkai Buddhism, which is organizing its 15 million adherents into a political machine sweeping to power in the elections of 1966 Japan. The Gakkai claim that faith can solve the economic and material issues of life. The film is shot in Tokyo during the successful election campaign of Soka Gakkai's Komeito party.

Hong Kong is home to the world's largest addiction problem in the world [by 1977], and this film looks at the heroin business in Hong Kong from two sides; a dealer gang on the street, and Hong Kong's Narcotics Bureau. Both sides cooperate fully to allow secret filming of their operations. The film also looks at the role of the big drug rings. The Triad gang talks about their situation. The senior police officials analyze intelligence, discuss their strategies, and conclude that's there's no solution to the drug problem, just changing trends – the drug trade evolves and can't be stopped.

Revisits the Shan state in Burma, where one-third of the world's narcotics are produced. The Shan State Army vies with the Burmese Home Guard army and the Chinese KMT opium army for control of the opium trade, attacking and defending mule opium convoys. The film follows in some detail the distrust, betrayals, changes of alliance and assassinations between the various armies. Lo Hsing Han (also known as Law Sit Han), a warlord dubbed the "King of Opium" by the U.S. Narcotics Bureau, rises to power and talks openly to the camera about his opium business. In 1974 the Shan army sends a proposal to the U.S. to sell a large quantity of opium, hoping to reduce the fighting with a political solution. Lo Hsing Han has the power to resolve the opium anarchy in the Shan state, and is arrested by Thai police, who have a vested interest in the opium trade, and extradited to Burma.

In the United States, President Carter and top government officials react to the controversial Shan proposal that the U.S. buy the entire opium output of the Shan State from warlord Khun Sa. The Congressional Select Committee on Narcotics and the White House Office of Drug Abuse Policy (which includes the DEA, the National Institute of Drug Abuse ,and the State department) disagree about what must be done to eliminate opium production in Shan state. Congressman Lester Wolff holds hearings on the proposal and provides unusual access to the camera crew. Includes footage of President Carter and the July 1977 hearings debating United States' international drug policy.

Picks up the story in the 1960s when the Burmese Army seized power in a coup and abolished Burma's democratic constitution and Parliament. The Shan farmers’ war of independence against the dictatorship is financed with their only source of ready money, opium. The film follows Shan guerilla armies as they fight for control of the huge mule convoys which export the opium to the outside world. It also shows the United States attacking the convoys in the 1970s. Lo Hsing Han, "King of Opium," proposes the sale of opium to the U.S. to end the opium trade, but his proposal is suppressed and the U.S. cooperates with Thai police to arrest him, under the pretext of agreeing to negotiate his proposal. Lo Hsing's warlord successor, Khun Sa, sends a new proposal, which is debated by Carter Administration drug policy officials and rejected. Instead, the U.S. decides to give money and airplanes to Burma, a policy which fails to intercept any opium in its ten-year campaign. The Burmese junta's 1988 massacre of thousands of pro-democracy protestors sparks world outrage. Wolff, Nellis and Borne are interviewed in the 1990s about the US drug policy's lack of success. Khun Sa celebrates his 60th birthday and is indicted and threatened with kidnaping by the United States.

An in-depth look at the war on drugs in Hong Kong over twenty years, examining the heroin economy and drug war from the viewpoints of consumer, pusher and law enforcement. The film team follows the Triad street drug gang filmed in 1978’s , and analyzes the Hong Kong police's apparently futile war against the drug trade. Enforcement efforts and the market economy created an escalation from opium to the heroin, which is more harmful and addictive, and easier to smuggle. Hong Kong's addiction rates have stabilized since the 1960s, but the rest of the world's addiction rates have soared, and the war on drugs continues to evolve.

The final film in the Heroin Wars series examines the progression over 30 years of the intertwined drug war and Shans’ war of independence in Burma. By 1993, the villagers grow 2-5 times more opium than in the 1970s. The civil war has escalated. The Burmese armies' brutalities lead to international outcry and a conflict between US Human Rights and drug policies. Shan armies are recruiting and training large numbers of soldiers. Warlord Kuhn Sa, the second "King of Opium," is interviewed, declaring his dedication to Shan independence. In a 1994 interview, Carter aide Peter Bourne reevaluates the 1974_ White House response to the Shan proposals to hand over its opium and end the trade. Meanwhile Lo Hsing Han, the first "King of Opium," regains power over the narcotics trade, leading to Khun Sa's 1995 surrender and abandoning the cause of Shan independence to protect his narcotics business. By 1996, both men are wealthy and powerful, and the amount of opium produced in Shan State has increased ten times. Despite massive U.S. aid to Burmese for drug enforcement, less than 1% of the narcotics in Burma have been intercepted.