Digphilly.com, a local arts, entertainment and culture blog, posted a short Q&A today with Eric C. Schneider, author of Smack: Heroin and the American City. Here's an excerpt from the interview:
DigPhilly: What makes heroin a more urban drug than other drugs?
Eric Schneider: Drug markets are usually described in the abstract,
but in fact have a real, physical existence. Basically from World War
II through the 80’s, New York City was the principal trading center
where the international trade would find buyers both wholesale and
retail. For most of the 20th century, approximately half of the
nation's heroin users lived in one place and that was New York City.
Schneider will be at the Penn Bookstore in West Philadelphia at 6:00 p.m. tomorrow to discuss his work at length.