Tragic yet hypnotic images of Brazil's “cracklands.” The growing epidemic of crack cocaine in Brazil has led to entire neighborhoods being ceded to the crack trade, where dealers and addicts walk out in the open with no fear of repercussions.
A drug user consumes crack in the old center of Salvador da Bahia March 19, 2012. Many Brazilian cities now have their own "cracklands," areas of the city where swarms of crack users have converted entire neighborhoods into nocturnal encampments doubling as open-air crack markets. At nightfall throngs of stupefied buyers crowd around dealers before skulking away behind the telltale glow of cigarette lighters. Sociologists, health experts, and law enforcement officials all agree that crack use is a rapidly growing problem that puts Brazil squarely in the center of the international drug trade, just a few years ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games.
(Reuters / Lunae Parracho )
A street in Sao Paulo during the day (L) and at night, March 19th, 2012. Crack addicts and dealers overtake the neighborhood once night falls. Demand for cocaine has soared along with the economy over the past decade and fueled an abundant supply of crack now ensnaring thousands of new addicts. With nowhere else to go, legions of the addicted roam city centers across Brazil, many of them venues chosen to showcase Brazil's ascendance during the World Cup and the Olympic Games.
(Reuters / Paulo Whitaker)
Crack addicts consume the drug on a street in Sao Paulo, March 19th, 2012.
(Reuters / Paulo Whitaker)
A policeman pulls a gun on crack addicts during a raid on a street in Sao Paulo, March 20th, 2012.
(Reuters / Paulo Whitaker)