In Juárez, a Militarized Border Makes Drug Use More Deadly
Growing security deployments pose unique challenges for harm reduction groups.
Editor’s Note: This story is a collaboration between Puente News Collaborative and the Texas Observer.
In Ciudad Juárez, healthcare workers from Programa Compañeros, a nonprofit organization, visit a collection of makeshift shelters along the train tracks to provide assistance to vulnerable populations.
People who use drugs in this area, known as picaderos or "shooting galleries", prepare for the workers' arrival by gathering their used syringes to exchange for clean ones and collecting packets of distilled water to safely cook heroin.
The workers have built relationships with these individuals over years, providing them with essential supplies and support.
They prepare their kits in anticipation of the small packets of distilled water in which they can more safely cook heroin.
Author's summary: Militarized border increases drug use risks.