Business as Usual: Heroin Distribution in the United States

Abstract

This article criticizes the predominant analysis of heroin use as a social aberration and argues instead that the normal structure and functioning of U.S. capitalism generate both the market for the drug and the industry which supplies it. The structure of the distribution industry is much like those for comparable legal goods, but with distinctive features which provide reduced risk for dealers and long-term stability for the industry as a whole. The expansionary dynamic of the industry and the key role of syndicates in it are analyzed. The heroin industry is deeply integrated into the economy, and far-reaching social and economic change will be necessary if heroin use is to be significantly reduced.