Substance Abuse and Society

Substance Abuse and Society is a lengthy article written by a non-academic, self-educated person who grew up and lived most of his life on the fringes of a major drug and alcohol infested environment, namely the student tenderloin known as "the Street," on the East End of Princeton University.

Begun as a few "speakeasies" during the Roaring Twenties, it was quickly expanded and formalized into so-called "eating clubs." The wealth of some of the members, along with the tremendous popularity of the places to those seeking a "party" life-style, replete with a generous allotment of various intoxicants, rendered the district invulnerable to enforcement efforts by both the town and university.

The author saw two of three brothers and dozens of friends succumb to various drug fashions that swept the area around the Street, and succumb himself for a two or three year period.

Thereafter, he earned a living in the area, until the clubs, seeking to expand the distribution of cocaine, bribed the town's Mayor. He, in turn, caused a "dirty snowball" of code enforcement, shutting down some student rentals in town, while taking bribes from the club officers. He also drove out through threats and hostile police activity any and all who opposed him.

This work was written by one of those "run out of town" by the mayor, and who found refuge from the pro-drug and alcohol forces in mental illness and homelessness.