Baltimore: A city succumbing to heroin
September 22, 2000
From Pierre Thomas
CNN Justice Correspondent
BALTIMORE, Maryland (CNN) -- The steady stream of people picking up clean hypodermic needles on a recent Friday morning in Baltimore is one indication the Maryland city has perhaps the nation's highest rate of heroin addiction.
Even the addicts feel they are victims of an urban plague.
"Pure hell, hell, hell," said one man, who didn't want his name used. "I'm saying it's hard for me to function in the morning. When I get up, I have to find a way to get the heroin to function through the day. And it's taking a toll on my life."
- source
Baltimore Is the U.S. Heroin Capital
One in 10 Residents of Baltimore Addicted
B A L T I M O R E, March 14 2001
Baltimore is the heroin capital of the United States.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency says the city has the highest per capita heroin addiction rate in the country. Estimates of the total number of addicts in the city vary, but experts agree it's staggering.
In a city of 645,000, the Baltimore Department of Health estimates there are 60,000 drug addicts, with as many as 48,000 of them hooked on heroin. A federal report released last month puts the number of heroin addicts alone at 60,000.
The problem in the city is so acute that the federal government has designated Baltimore part of what it calls a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, making it eligible for special federal assistance to local police.
Tom Carr, the director of the Washington/Baltimore HIDTA program — a joint federal, state and local effort — says the heroin epidemic in Baltimore dates back to the 1950s and is now an engrained part of the city's culture.
"It's an old 'heroin town,'" says Carr. "There is an appetite for heroin in Baltimore … It's accepted by all too many people down there as something that's normal behavior."
"It's almost a rite of passage for some," he adds, noting that heroin habits are often passed down from generation to generation.
"They might as well put a gun to their head and kill themselves," says Wanda, forming the shape of a gun with her fingers and pointing it at her forehead. "It's suicide."
"I wouldn't let my worst enemy do it," adds "T." "Once you learn how it feels, you're on that track and there's not much that's gonna help you."
The Washington/Baltimore HIDTA predicted in its February situation report, "The number of heroin addicts in [Baltimore] will continue to rise."
