Drug problems in St. Louis? (Memphis, Houston: crime, homes, school district)

[gypsyjudy]

I don't watch television very often, but I recently came across a show on NatGeo called Drugs, Inc. For some strange reason I find it fascinating - but not in a good way. Some of the shows I have watched profiled Memphis, Detroit, and Houston, all cities in which I have lived. I never knew drugs were such an issue in our country. Of course, I do live in my own little ivory tower where I have never been exposed to this lifestyle (I don't even drink!), so that is no surprise.

Is anyone familiar with this show, and do they know if St. Louis has been profiled? (The show has been on for several seasons, but from the titles I cannot tell where all of the locations have been). How bad are drugs in St. Louis? I've read about it a little, and I talked to a police officer in my area that said they are everywhere in the metro area. I will admit to being very naive about the issue, possibly too naive (plus I am getting older, and this seems to affect the younger generation more). After watching these shows (especially the one filmed in Memphis), it made me wonder how prevalent are these issues here.

Love to hear any discussions on this.

[STL2006]

Drugs are a problem in every large metro in the US. They are everywhere.

[gypsyjudy]

I gathered that from the shows. I was just wondering if St. Louis is worse than the average large metro area. The location would make it a hub for activity, I would think. And with the crime problem - is a lot of that from drug issues?

[MUTGR]

Originally Posted by gypsyjudy

I gathered that from the shows. I was just wondering if St. Louis is worse than the average large metro area. The location would make it a hub for activity, I would think. And with the crime problem - is a lot of that from drug issues?

I can't say relative to other cities, but St. Louis has a heroin problem big time. I don't think it is unique to St. Louis by any stretch, but it is real. I just read an article about it in Philly, as well.

It has impacted teens in the affluent suburbs, so it is not just an inner city problem. I'm somewhat attuned to this as I have teens in what is considered a very good, affluent suburb and school district, and there have been several deaths to heroin overdoses at the high school level.

Again, I don't know that this is specific to St. Louis, and I don't believe it is, but it is a serious issue.

[gypsyjudy]

It's clearly not specific to St. Louis, like you say. One of the remarkable things my family and I gather from these shows are that virtually none of the dealers use drugs themselves, and they admit how bad cocaine and heroin are for one's health! A lot of the users are white suburbanites from middle class families, it seems. Sadly, most all of them are addicted and wish they had never gone down this road. Very, very sad.

My kids (16, 13, 11) are homeschooled, so, until recently, have been completely ignorant of the issue. This has been enlightening to them, to say the least. I was just hoping that maybe St. Louis has not been as affected as badly as other cities such as Baltimore (On the show they said 60,000 people in Baltimore are addicted. The Memphis show was beyond startling-and my husband grew up there! Detroit (used to live there too) was bad, but not as bad as the above. New Orleans was a nightmare).

It's depressing, really. I hope there is a way to get a hold on this issue, but it doesn't look terribly promising with police being overwhelmed with that and gun violence. I'm not sure what the motivation is for getting involved in drugs in the first place, but it seems a lot of these kids are hopeless with not a lot of support or direction.

Regarding the comment about overdosing. One of the shows last night said that when someone dies from overdosing, that supplier gets overwhelmed with more business because it proves his product is good/pure. Unreal.

[PerseusVeil]

Missouri was the meth capital of the country for years. I think the state finally got overtaken by Indiana and Tennessee.

[zach_33]

I agree that it is probably about the same in St. Louis as all the major cities you see on that show. I personally think all drugs should be legal. Heroin, meth and cocaine are bad news in my view - I would avoid anyone who actively uses these drugs. People have been seeking intoxication since the dawn of time, though. Alcohol creates more death and destruction than any of the criminalized street drugs, I would guess.

[oneslip]

As other's have stated...."everywhere" it exists. Demand is strong.


I agree with legalization of marijuana but do think "dangerous" drugs should remain illegal as a schedule 1 narcotic.


I do think there was a NatGeo show that focused on Meth production/ raids etc. in the Jefferson county area.