MUMBAI: Prior to the 1960’s, very few Americans had ever tried drugs. Today, more than 110 million (nearly half of the U.S. adult population) admit to having used an illicit substance at least once in their lifetime.

Now VH1, in association with Sundance Channel, have produced the original documentary series The Drug Years. This is a four-part look at the rise of illicit drug use and its cultural impact in the second half of the twentieth century.Based on the book Can’t Find My Way Home: America in the Great Stoned Age, by Martin Torgoff, the series premieres on VH1 in the US tonight 12 June 2006.

Spanning the 1950’s to the present, The Drug Years explores the development of a commercial drug culture in America, using archival footage and interviews to illustrate how popular culture -- including music, movies, comedy, and television – have shaped and reflected public perceptions of illicit drugs. The Drug Years also looks at how drugs became part of the nation’s political landscape, from the youth rebellions of the 1960’s to the War on Drugs and beyond.

This epic recounting of American drug culture is told through dozens of interviews with actors, musicians, journalists, policy advocates, former drug smugglers, and a retired DEA agent.

Celebrities who will be interviewed include actor Peter Coyote, singer Jackson Browne, rap star Ice-T and rock star John Mellencamp