This DVD from Alpha Video is a mess to watch. Through much of the film, you can't tell whether or not the movie was originally made in black & white or color--it's that faded. In addition, the print is very fuzzy--with the details being rather blurry. It's obvious that Alpha didn't restore the film in any manner--something typical of all of the Alpha releases I've seen. On one hand I love Alpha because they have released many things that aren't available elsewhere. On the other, their DVDs never have captions and often have horrible prints.
As for the film, it's produced by the police and the narration sounds a lot like a much more serious version of Jack Webb. There is no dialog in the film, as it's essentially silent with the narrator explaining the action and dispensing lots and lots and lots of information about the various drugs seen in 1958--with the exception of alcohol. The information is very informative and was great for police and community information purposes. Most of the information was pretty accurate though the material given on marijuana did seem a bit overstated (I am NOT an apologist for pot nor am I recommending it--the film, however, makes it seem about as harmful as heroin and barbiturates). However, it was also incredibly dry and dull and after a while I have a devil of a time staying awake! Overall, it's a film that most probably would not care to see. Since this film debuted, many better anti-drug films have been released and seeing THE NARCOTICS STORY is more for the curious than someone wanting to learn the facts about drug abuse.