Drugs: Cannabis country, heroin fix and India’s addicts
Three short docs about prescription drugs in India, a cannabis connoisseur in Uruguay and heroin addiction in Tanzania.
India’s Deadly Medicine
The unchecked sale of prescription drugs in India is having a devastating impact on users.
Pharmacies freely sell medical-grade drugs to addicts for up to a tenth of the cost of heroin.
For the drug addicts in one New Delhi neighbourhood it is a cheap and easy way to get high.
“Medicine is supposed to help people, but here [in India] medicine is not helping people, it’s killing them, and it’s a slow death … a lot more is needed from the government side – not to stop the drug but to regulate it,” says Rajeev, a former drug addict.
Cannabis Country
In 2013, Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalise marijuana and regulate a recreational market for the drug.
Before legalisation, activist Juan Vaz went to jail for growing pot. When he was released, he fought to change the law and to organise growers and sellers.
“I specialise in weed and everything related to it. From changing laws to creating hybrids with an oriental species,” Juan Vaz says.
Tanzania’s Heroin Fix
Heroin addicts in Tanzania have a unique refuge at Muhimbili’s National Hospital, which contains one of Africa’s first methadone clinics.
Stamil Hamadi is an addict and sex worker who has cycled in and out of treatment since 2012.