I'm not quite sure how I ran into this documentary but I did. And then decided to give it a shot and watch it. It's about several kids(18+) living on the streets and shooting up black tar heroin, showing their daily life and struggles, telling their story.

My heart broke while watching it. Most of them have severe traumas and you can see them suffer. A leading subject is how much they miss their mothers/parents and how they actually want to go home. These kids were thrown into the deep without the proper guidance to help them through and now they're rotting away. Even those the images are 16 years old, and these kids are probably ALL death(exception perhaps being Alice), it really tore me up. I just wanted to hold them and tell them that everything will be all right.

Not for the faint of heart, contains graphic imagery:
Black tar heroin: the dark end of the street

I saw this documentary a few years ago, a little update on those featured in the documentary:

Jake - Overdosed, deceased. (The gay kid with AIDS eventually quit heroin and got on methadone. He went back to heroin and overdosed.)
Tracy – Currently a drug counselor. (Tracy, the older lady, went to school and became an alcohol and drug counselor. Her boyfriend who was shooting in his neck died of an overdose.)
Alice – Currently 8 years clean. (She is the one that moved back to Washington.)
Oreo – Whereabouts currently unknown. (Oreo’s girlfriend in the doc died of an overdose.)
Jessica – Overdose, deceased. (The young punk girl who turned to prostitution, diagnosed with AIDS.)

You should check out Dope Sick Love, it's in the same vein of Black Tar Heroin and also made by HBO.

This was a very good documentary for me to watch, thank you so much for posting this sir.

Don't do that shit!

While I completely agree with you there, this documentary hit hard at home for me. All these kids have severe youth trauma's and have no idea how to handle those and live a proper life. I feel quite similar, except I've always refused to come near such drugs, but these kids are in that state because of broken families, lack of love, abuse, etc. All of them are asking for their parents / mothers.

The problem is not that these drugs are there, the problem is that they attract people that are unable to cope with their pain and suffering, throwing themselves into a destructive negative spiral. These problems are the ultimate proof that society is dwindling down. We need to change the way we live and look at life.

>And then decided to give it a shot

Am I a bad person for laughing at that? Seemed like a somewhat inappropriate choice of words considering the subject

Regardless... I've seen it before, I see it on a daily basis in my own home town, and it's very saddening.

There is some controversy in this subject though, most of them chooses to abuse drugs and doesn't accept help either, they just dig their own grave with dope untill their dead. At that stage it's all about the individual, some will commit crimes to get jail time for the free food and shelter...


You're making my point here, most jails actually have a better enviroment & menu (where I live) than the homeless shelter, THAT'S retarded.

Haha, given the context that's a rather bad play of words. Didn't mean it in that context.


Do they? I strongly doubt that any drug addict chooses to live that life. If you closely look these people, what you see is a bunch of helpless children(because that's what they are) who want their parents and who want to pain to stop. But they can't make the pain stop without heroin because they lack the coping mechanisms.

Noone voluntarily chooses that lifestyle. Just the same as with homeless people living on the streets; There are many people who claim that most of these people choose that lifestyle and actually don't want to live in a house with a steady income. That is bollocks as humans are creatures of habit. Most humans prefer a life that consists of a predictable and scheduled steadiness. Ask any person who is involved without helping drug addicts or homeless people.

However, these people are so damaged / hurt that they don't know how to live such a life. Instead of being able to work a steady job while getting up at the same time every day and doing the things that are good for them, they get stuck in a cycle of shooting up. They plan of get out, want to get out, but they lack the tools and the support network to STAY out. The only way to get these kids out of their drug use is to break the cycle:
- Move them to a rehab clinic outside the cities where they live
- Learn them social skills
- Learn them a skill to find a job
- Help them with a job and a place to live in
- Support them for 2 or 3 years in order for them to get a new life in a new city.

As long as they have the chance to go back to their old drug using friends, they'll go back to using.


That is retarded yes. Many places treat homeless people like trash, even lower than prisoners. And by doing so, they provide these people with the worst possible lives.

great documentary

if you like that kind of thing here is one from another perspective http://vimeo.com/5227124

I watched that Dope Sick Love right after the black tar one, personally dope sick love was the sort of thing that made me think of requiem for a dream only in reality. It was way better and for lack of a better word a masterpiece. If anyone has drug problems and need a little help with there kick. Watch this stuff!

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand this is why i am NEVER going to do heroin

do people realize that you're not meant to IV black tar H?

Hi Guys

I see alot of you were affected by Black Tar Heroin along with myself and there has been a number of updates on all the people featured apart from Oreo who up until now his whereabouts where unknown after watching the dark ened of the street again with some friends i showed them the 2004 update and in the comments was a post from Oreos mum

'For everyone wondering about Oreo, he no longer goes by that name. I am his Mother, and I am here to tell you that he is alive and well, and living in the northern part of the country. He has a family, and loves them all very much, and is working a very good job. He is clean, and has been so for at least 8 years! And I am VERY PROUD of my wonderful son!!!'

msviviannlee 1 month ago

Now i am unsure if this is genuine but i am hoping it is ....