I was just looking at the What To Do When You Are Attacked thread, and after seeing a bunch of people talk about "drug addicts," I just have to ask - there are young crack heads in the DR? I have been here a year and I just don't get it. I am sure that there are some young drug users, but I have never seen any young people that seem to be under the influence of anything other than Brugal, Barcelo, or maybe weed.
I have talked to a bunch of Dominicans - and a lot of them have complained about the drug problem. But, I have been all over- Punta Cana, Samana, Santiago, Sosua, Santiago, Santo Domingo, Cotui, Bonao - and I can honestly say I have never been offered to be sold drugs. I have never seen a young person, "tigere," that made me say "wow - that guy is on something!" (other than alcohol.) I am in my early 30s - and I "blend in." No one here knows I am not Dominican until I speak to them.
Where are all these drug addicts hiding? Not that I desire a run in or anything, but when I lived in Baltimore there was no doubt about the crack and heroine addicts everywhere. The same goes for Washington D.C.
While I do not doubt that crack and other hard drugs can be found here, it just does not seem to me that the penetration is to the level that the people need to fear for their lives because "crack heads" are running wild. If anything, alcohol seems to be the drug of choice among young Dominican jovenes.
Moreover, if I remember correctly, when I lived in B-more and the D.C. area, crack did not seem to be a major factor in making people homicidal. Sure, people committed robberies in order to get money to buy the drug, but I don't remember hearing anything about crack or heroine making people more violent while under the influence (I am sure that there are websites that say crack makes you violent, but after having lived around them - it has not been my experience that people become HOMICIDAL.) I could be wrong about that - but one thing I DO know - alcohol is proven to cause some people to take on a very violent nature.
I have talked to a bunch of Dominicans - and a lot of them have complained about the drug problem. But, I have been all over- Punta Cana, Samana, Santiago, Sosua, Santiago, Santo Domingo, Cotui, Bonao - and I can honestly say I have never been offered to be sold drugs. I have never seen a young person, "tigere," that made me say "wow - that guy is on something!" (other than alcohol.) I am in my early 30s - and I "blend in." No one here knows I am not Dominican until I speak to them.
Where are all these drug addicts hiding? Not that I desire a run in or anything, but when I lived in Baltimore there was no doubt about the crack and heroine addicts everywhere. The same goes for Washington D.C.
While I do not doubt that crack and other hard drugs can be found here, it just does not seem to me that the penetration is to the level that the people need to fear for their lives because "crack heads" are running wild. If anything, alcohol seems to be the drug of choice among young Dominican jovenes.
Moreover, if I remember correctly, when I lived in B-more and the D.C. area, crack did not seem to be a major factor in making people homicidal. Sure, people committed robberies in order to get money to buy the drug, but I don't remember hearing anything about crack or heroine making people more violent while under the influence (I am sure that there are websites that say crack makes you violent, but after having lived around them - it has not been my experience that people become HOMICIDAL.) I could be wrong about that - but one thing I DO know - alcohol is proven to cause some people to take on a very violent nature.