Heroin: Chasing The Dragon - Justine Picardie & Dorothy Wade

IN 1975 THERE WERE PROBABLY 4,000 KNOWN HEROIN ADDICTS IN BRITAIN: BY 1985 THE NUMBER WAS 50,000.

In the 60s and 70s Britain had a heroin problem - now it has an epidemic. How has this happened? What makes people take heroin? Why is such a deadly, highly addictive drug so cheaply and widely available throughout the country and to all sections of Society-from down-and-outs to millionaires? Is rising unemployment among the young a cause? Where does the drug come from, and how does it get through the safety net and onto the streets? As the government tries to formulate a strategy to fight heroin, the number of addicts grows and more and more are seeking treatment which just doesn't exist. This new investigation, by Justine Picardie and Dorothy Wade of i he Sunday Times, supplements detailed research with interviews with addicts and their families, doctors, dealers, detectives, customs officers, social workers, teachers and MPs, and includes a reference section: where and how to get help.
Cover photograph by Jeremy Nicholl

Justine Picardie is a journalist who worked most recently as features director of British Vogue and as editor of the Observer Magazine. She is currently a full-time freelance writer for numerous publications including the Sunday Telegraph Magazine, Harper's Bazaar and the Times of London. She has also written several fiction and non-fiction books including Wish I May, Daphne, If the Spirit Moves You: Life and Love after Death, and My Mother's Wedding Dress. Picardie's title, Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life became a New York Times bestseller in September of 2015.

121 pages Book shows signs of ageing.