RIO DE JANEIRO - Business was brisk in the Mandela shantytown on a recent night. Customers pawed through packets of powdered cocaine and marijuana priced at $5, $10, $25. Teenage boys with semiautomatic weapons took in money and made change while flirting with girls lounging nearby. Next to them, a gaggle of kids jumped on a trampoline, oblivious tothe gunsanddrug-running that are part of life in this and hundreds of other slums, known as favelas, across this metropolitan area of 12 million people. [continues 304 words]
Poverty and Cartels a Potent Mix in Central Valley FRESNO - The nation's capital of intravenous drug use is not New York or Miami, not Chicago or Detroit -- but Fresno. It is an unlikely distinction for a city of fewer than 500,000 people in the heart of one of the nation's richest agricultural regions. The percentage of people shooting up heroin and other drugs in Fresno is nearly three times the national average, fueled by a boom in methamphetamine use, according to a study issued last month. [continues 411 words]
California Farm City Leads Nation In Per-Capita Needle Use FRESNO, Calif. - The nation's capital of intravenous drug use is not New York or Miami, not Chicago or Detroit - but Fresno. It is an unlikely distinction for a city of fewer than 500,000 people in the heart of one of the nation's richest agricultural regions. The percentage of people shooting up heroin and other drugs in Fresno is nearly three times the national average, fueled by a boom in methamphetamine use, according to a study issued last month. [continues 410 words]
FRESNO, CALIF. - The nation's capital of intravenous drug use is not New York or Miami, not Chicago or Detroit, but Fresno. It is an unlikely distinction for a city of fewer than 500,000 people in the heart of one of the nation's richest agricultural regions. The percentage of people shooting up heroin and other drugs in Fresno is nearly three times the national average, fueled by a boom in methamphetamine use, according to a study issued last month. [continues 259 words]
