Tchort
Bluelight Crew
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2008
- Messages
- 2,392
Something I didn't know that you some of you might find interesting, is how the link between illegal female prostitution and drugs came about.
We seem to take it for granted today that the connection is a woman who is habituated or addicted to drugs would likely turn to prostitution as a (relatively speaking) easy way to get quick cash.
This did not happen on its own spontaneously. It was the planned and well executed plan of one man: Lucky Luciano, one of if not the most famous Cosa Nostra figure of the early American LCN mafia.
The American LCN (La Cosa Nostra) was originally involved in numbers rackets (illegal lotteries), protection rackets (pay me or I'll bust up your store/car/house), illegal gambling (backroom card games, slot halls, etc) and prostitution (via underground brothels).
The movie the Godfather touches on this time period very well: the days before organized crime took over narcotics sales. In fact, it goes into detail about actual events. A large number of LCN families in the US were against the mafia getting involved with narcotics. At this time Heroin and Marijuana were the major drugs of abuse that had been taken out of medical use and banned decades earlier, illegal Cocaine was in a distant 3rd place in those days.
Luciano was the man who pioneered the so-called 'French Connection' dope racket on the American side- poppies grown in Turkey, Opium/Morphine Base shipped to Southern France/Corsica and converted to Heroin, then shipped to the US for distribution and sale.
Early on Luciano decided to turn the prostitutes working for his crew/family onto Heroin for the purpose of getting them dependant and addicted to it. This turned out to be a perfect method of control. The women, whom Luciano and his crew were dependant on for financial reasons, were now dependant on Luciano and his dope.
Even though addicts make up a very small percentage of the population, they spend exorbitant amounts of cash for a product that is essentially worthless (if Heroin stayed in the medical field, like Morphine, it would be a generic drug right now, and could be had for as cheap or cheaper than Methadone- literally pennies a dose- and thats including marketing, packaging, distribution, profit, tax, etc costs). They also will pay these regular large sums of cash for long periods of time at regular intervals- they are the perfect customer.
The scheme involving the prostitutes is two fold. On the one hand it was a form of control. Women who act up, don't perform, etc can be punished by having their junk supply cut off, or by being kicked out of the brothel- and since for a considerable number of years most of the illicit Heroin was coming from Lucianos connections to the fields in Turkey, they had to obey or suffer dope sickness in an era when Heroin addicts were stigmatized much heavier than they are now (and many of us know how bad we get treated even in these 'enlightened' times).
On the other hand, the scheme is reminiscent of the pre-labor rights laws era in the US. A worker would get a job. He lived in a company owned house. He worked in a company owned mine, mill or factory. He shopped in a company owned store. He banked in a company owned bank. He was essentially providing his labour and the wealth it created all back into the pockets of the company, who only had to give in return the use of a house they owned anyway.
The girls were essentially working for Heroin, as the money they were making primarily went for dope (as Heroin addicts today can attest to their paychecks, if they are able to hold down a job). But the Heroin was merely an investment for Luciano and co. The small price paid for the Heroin that was heavily diluted (cut) and given to the prostitutes working for him, was made back in spades:
even though only a few hundred prostitutes are buying the Heroin, thousands upon thousands of johns a week are buying sex from the prostitutes- and most of that money went to Luciano and co. to begin with: but after introducing Heroin to the prostitutes, virtually all of the money from the very lucrative prostitution ring went to the crew.
Though this is just one segment of the business. Heroin grew in popularity to the epidemic proportions of the 1970s, and it seems this is mainly due to Luciano's involvement and overall strategy. One such move is the one outlined here. Dozens of moves equally cunning made him a very wealthy man, and left us with an unspeakable number of ruined lives, lost potential, lost years served in prisons and jails, etc.
Acts like this on the part of organized crime created the Harm that eventually led to the founding of Harm Reduction philosophy.
The creation of a black market, whether its for drugs or sex, leads to the exploitation of this market by enterprizing and unscrupulous people who have no regard for the human cost of their decisions so long as they make as much money and they possibly can.
The problems we associate with things that are illegal, like drugs and prostitution, are due to the unregulated, illicit status. In a game without rules whoever wants to dominate can do so in any way they see fit, and not everyone is capable of caring about the interest of their fellow human beings.
The entire culture surrounding drug use and the society that houses it has no memory of how these things started, and when they went south or why. That seems to be the main reason this Prohibitionist torturous war on human dignity and rights has continued for over a century.
In this case, the connection between prostitutes and drug addiction continued for many years, and was noted by many people (police, johns, social workers, politicians, criminals, etc). With cultural attention (books, movies, plays, etc) and political attention (Drug War propaganda, moral outrage editorials, etc) this connection became widely known and accepted as the norm. Prostitutes are usually drug addicts, ok- so says our cultural. This has created the environment that allows so many people to believe that this is just the way it is- when you use drugs, you're more willing to sell your body for drug money. Or, you don't care about yourself anymore, only the drugs, thats why they do it. So says joe citizen; but it isn't the case. In places where prostitution is legal in licensed brothels, drug addiction does not seem to be the norm. Access to healthcare, regular drug and disease screenings, counseling, and most importantly legitimate access to society at large. In a black market there are no rules. Disease, violent crime, mental and physical health problems, unsafe or unsanitary living conditions, etc are allowed to propagate in such an environment. Same goes for decriminalized drug use. And drug-of-choice maintenance programs (including giving injectable Heroin and Cocaine to a patient who is addicted to both drugs). These regulated forms of prostitution and drug use are devoid of the problems that are associated with them. We as a society let these norms develop and we do not challange them or wonder why. So they continue.
We seem to take it for granted today that the connection is a woman who is habituated or addicted to drugs would likely turn to prostitution as a (relatively speaking) easy way to get quick cash.
This did not happen on its own spontaneously. It was the planned and well executed plan of one man: Lucky Luciano, one of if not the most famous Cosa Nostra figure of the early American LCN mafia.
The American LCN (La Cosa Nostra) was originally involved in numbers rackets (illegal lotteries), protection rackets (pay me or I'll bust up your store/car/house), illegal gambling (backroom card games, slot halls, etc) and prostitution (via underground brothels).
The movie the Godfather touches on this time period very well: the days before organized crime took over narcotics sales. In fact, it goes into detail about actual events. A large number of LCN families in the US were against the mafia getting involved with narcotics. At this time Heroin and Marijuana were the major drugs of abuse that had been taken out of medical use and banned decades earlier, illegal Cocaine was in a distant 3rd place in those days.
Luciano was the man who pioneered the so-called 'French Connection' dope racket on the American side- poppies grown in Turkey, Opium/Morphine Base shipped to Southern France/Corsica and converted to Heroin, then shipped to the US for distribution and sale.
Early on Luciano decided to turn the prostitutes working for his crew/family onto Heroin for the purpose of getting them dependant and addicted to it. This turned out to be a perfect method of control. The women, whom Luciano and his crew were dependant on for financial reasons, were now dependant on Luciano and his dope.
Even though addicts make up a very small percentage of the population, they spend exorbitant amounts of cash for a product that is essentially worthless (if Heroin stayed in the medical field, like Morphine, it would be a generic drug right now, and could be had for as cheap or cheaper than Methadone- literally pennies a dose- and thats including marketing, packaging, distribution, profit, tax, etc costs). They also will pay these regular large sums of cash for long periods of time at regular intervals- they are the perfect customer.
The scheme involving the prostitutes is two fold. On the one hand it was a form of control. Women who act up, don't perform, etc can be punished by having their junk supply cut off, or by being kicked out of the brothel- and since for a considerable number of years most of the illicit Heroin was coming from Lucianos connections to the fields in Turkey, they had to obey or suffer dope sickness in an era when Heroin addicts were stigmatized much heavier than they are now (and many of us know how bad we get treated even in these 'enlightened' times).
On the other hand, the scheme is reminiscent of the pre-labor rights laws era in the US. A worker would get a job. He lived in a company owned house. He worked in a company owned mine, mill or factory. He shopped in a company owned store. He banked in a company owned bank. He was essentially providing his labour and the wealth it created all back into the pockets of the company, who only had to give in return the use of a house they owned anyway.
The girls were essentially working for Heroin, as the money they were making primarily went for dope (as Heroin addicts today can attest to their paychecks, if they are able to hold down a job). But the Heroin was merely an investment for Luciano and co. The small price paid for the Heroin that was heavily diluted (cut) and given to the prostitutes working for him, was made back in spades:
even though only a few hundred prostitutes are buying the Heroin, thousands upon thousands of johns a week are buying sex from the prostitutes- and most of that money went to Luciano and co. to begin with: but after introducing Heroin to the prostitutes, virtually all of the money from the very lucrative prostitution ring went to the crew.
Though this is just one segment of the business. Heroin grew in popularity to the epidemic proportions of the 1970s, and it seems this is mainly due to Luciano's involvement and overall strategy. One such move is the one outlined here. Dozens of moves equally cunning made him a very wealthy man, and left us with an unspeakable number of ruined lives, lost potential, lost years served in prisons and jails, etc.
Acts like this on the part of organized crime created the Harm that eventually led to the founding of Harm Reduction philosophy.
The creation of a black market, whether its for drugs or sex, leads to the exploitation of this market by enterprizing and unscrupulous people who have no regard for the human cost of their decisions so long as they make as much money and they possibly can.
The problems we associate with things that are illegal, like drugs and prostitution, are due to the unregulated, illicit status. In a game without rules whoever wants to dominate can do so in any way they see fit, and not everyone is capable of caring about the interest of their fellow human beings.
The entire culture surrounding drug use and the society that houses it has no memory of how these things started, and when they went south or why. That seems to be the main reason this Prohibitionist torturous war on human dignity and rights has continued for over a century.
In this case, the connection between prostitutes and drug addiction continued for many years, and was noted by many people (police, johns, social workers, politicians, criminals, etc). With cultural attention (books, movies, plays, etc) and political attention (Drug War propaganda, moral outrage editorials, etc) this connection became widely known and accepted as the norm. Prostitutes are usually drug addicts, ok- so says our cultural. This has created the environment that allows so many people to believe that this is just the way it is- when you use drugs, you're more willing to sell your body for drug money. Or, you don't care about yourself anymore, only the drugs, thats why they do it. So says joe citizen; but it isn't the case. In places where prostitution is legal in licensed brothels, drug addiction does not seem to be the norm. Access to healthcare, regular drug and disease screenings, counseling, and most importantly legitimate access to society at large. In a black market there are no rules. Disease, violent crime, mental and physical health problems, unsafe or unsanitary living conditions, etc are allowed to propagate in such an environment. Same goes for decriminalized drug use. And drug-of-choice maintenance programs (including giving injectable Heroin and Cocaine to a patient who is addicted to both drugs). These regulated forms of prostitution and drug use are devoid of the problems that are associated with them. We as a society let these norms develop and we do not challange them or wonder why. So they continue.
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It's very sad to see this happening. It's hard to imagine that heroin could be that cheap but it's so true! I mean I go to the grocery store and see a pound of granulated sugar for less than a dollar and I know that growing, harvesting and processing poppies can't be that much harder (if it even is harder) than getting sugar from cane. Same for cocaine. 
