[hither-thither]

“Junk is not a ‘good kick’. The point of junk to a user is that it forms the habit. No one knows what junk is until he is junk sick.”

This book convinced me even more that drug addicts are victims who are foolish enough to allow themselves to be purposely trapped as a victim. They need help, not punishment. They are punished enough for their foolishness by their junk routines. Their dependent on junk is already a punishment itself.

But that is until they decide to commit crime to stay a victim to junk, which will then make them a criminal.

I rarely enjoy non-fiction, and this is one of those few books.

And for some reason, throughout the book, I keep picturing young Anthony Bourdain as Burroughs.

“It is possible to detach yourself from most pain -  injury to teeth, eyes, and genitals present special difficulties - so that the pain is experienced as neutral excitation. From junk sickness there seems to be no escape. Junk sickness is the reverse side of Junk kick. The kick of junk is that you have to have it. Junkies run on junk time and junk metabolism. They are subject to junk climate. They are warmed and chilled by junk. The kick of junk is living under junk conditions. You cannot escape from junk sickness any more than you can escape from junk kick after a shot.”