Cocaine and Heroin: Still Here, Still Deadly

Even though cocaine and heroin are no longer the subjects of extensive media coverage, these powerful and dangerous drugs remain in widespread use. Cocaine and Heroin: Still Here, Still Deadly presents the realities of addiction as seen through the eyes of Benjamin, a former cocaine user and dealer, and Megan, whose life was ruled for many years by heroin. Benjamin and Megan's backgrounds are very different: the former is a Latino high-school dropout who grew up in a rough neighborhood with drug dealers everywhere, while the latter is a middle-class white girl who went to college. However, their respective addictions landed them in the same place: alienated from their families, frequenting crack or flop houses, engaging in dealing and prostitution, and in and out of jail. Although it's easy for teens to dismiss warnings about drugs, it may be harder for them to ignore how repulsive a drug user's daily reality becomes, which both Benjamin and Megan describe as they take viewers on a tour of their old drug haunts. The accompanying curriculum expands on the video content, covering street names for drugs, warning signs of addiction, and the ripple effect of drug abuse. Recommended. Aud: J, H, P. (E. Gieschen)