As many people may know, over the past two years I have been working on a documentary photo project that deals with the issue of heroin addiction. Now I’m ready to put the book and gallery show together, and I’ve decided on a name for the book. I’m calling it “Junkie Business.” There’s just too much money in the drug market: from the dealers themselves, to treatment centers, to doctors, to pharmaceutical companies, and law enforcement. It’s a large part of their economies.
For example: Many mom-and-pop stores here in Chicago give the addicts “shopping lists” of things to boost from the big-chain stores. On average, a heroin addict can boost 10k worth of merchandise each month. Times that by 50 thousand addicts! Bags of Dunkin Donuts coffee, Crest Whitestrips, candybars; you name it, they boost it.
Cops can make an extra $500.00 each week from the dealers. That’s the going rate for a Chicago cop to stay away from a dealer’s corner. It’s well past time to end the “War On Drugs.”
This is worth a read:
Dying To Be Free – There’s A Treatment For Heroin Addiction That Actually Works. Why Aren’t We Using It?
Good Chuck The public don’t see all this and choose just to blame and punish the people who are addicted The name works!
Thanks Paul. Look for the first of four magazines to be published real soon.