Whether you’re an absolute beginner or the sort of person who knows what “terpenes” are, we’ve compiled a list of good manners that you can apply to most social situations involving weed, 4/20 or not. Stick with these rules, and you’ll be able to seamlessly slip into any stoner group and become one of the gang.

1. Don’t Give Someone Edibles Without Telling Them

It’s seriously not cool to do this, and frankly, is illegal. Would you roofie your friend at the bar? Would you put cocaine in their soup? I really hope you’re all answering “no” to these questions. You shouldn’t do those things, and you shouldn’t give someone an edible without telling them either. It could end up in an awful, paranoid-fueled situation. This rule applies to all, even people who love being high or have a high tolerance. Consent is important, kids.

2. Respect Rollers’ Rights

If they roll it, they get to hit it first. The end. Of course, the exception is if they ask you to spark it for them or something. While rollers’ rights is common courtesy, not everyone likes the first hit of a joint, so just follow their lead.

3. Don’t Share If You’re Sick

Have we learned nothing from COVID-19? If you think you’re coming down with a fever or your tummy isn’t feeling so good, just roll your own joint or pack your own bowl. Just like sharing drinks or locking lips, passing a joint or bong around the circle can spread germs and make everyone sick. And if all your friends are sick, you’ll have no one to get high with.

MORE CANNABIS 101: How to Tell If Your Weed Is Good, Mid, or Actually Trash

4. Avoid Slobbering All Over It

I don’t care if you have “naturally moist” lips – there’s nothing worse than receiving a vape or a blunt covered in someone else’s spit. The tip of the joint or blunt shouldn’t be INSIDE your mouth. Curl your lips inward a little so the blunt just barely touches the outside edges of them, and then inhale. Placing it on the side of your mouth can help too. No reason to droll all over it. Plus, with joints, moisture can make the paper fall apart.

5. Don’t Hog the Blunt

Goes without saying. Generally, the puff-puff pass is the rule of thumb, so take two hits and pass it along. The other issue is people who “camp” on the joint. If you’re holding the joint and talking everyone’s ear off, you’re burning precious weed, and no one is getting high off it. I like to think a 30–60-second hold is acceptable. But 60 seconds is the absolute max. Really, you should hit the joint the moment you get it, and then try to take the second hit before you hit the 30-second mark.

6. Clean Your Bong

If you’re going to share it with friends, do the right thing and make sure they’re not getting high off moldy water. Yes, this happens, and it can get you sick. Smoking with old, nasty bong water can even give you bronchitis. At the very least, change out the water and give the bong a solid rinse. If you need a little help, I love the Blazy Susan Magnetic Resin Blaster!

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7. Don’t “Guess-TimatE” Edibles

Okay, I won’t call this one a “rule” because you’re the master of your own life. However, I advise against eyeballing or winging an edible recipe. If you’re cooking with weed, don’t guess the measurements or forget how much you put in there. This is for your own self-preservation, but it is equally important if you’re planning to serve the food to anybody else. If you struggle to be precise with measuring and recipes and whatnot, just buy edibles, like the Cycling Frog Take and Get Baked Cookie Mix.

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Cycling Frog

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8. Be Kind to Anyone Having a Tough Time

We’ve all been there. Compassion is key. Do not take this as a chance to scare them or make a joke. This doesn’t just apply to someone who is vomiting or catatonic. If someone feels anxious, paranoid, or uncomfortable, be nice to them. Be supportive and kind, and try to create a safe space for them to ride out the wave. Also, maybe bring them some water.

ALSO IMPORTANT: Gas Station Weed (Is It As Bad As Gas Station Sushi?)

9. Don’t Be a Weed Bore or Snob

I can guarantee that people do not want to hear your monologue about the latest Cali strain. Read the room. As a cannabis writer, I love talking about different strains and cannabinoids and products, but there’s no reason to lecture someone or be a know-it-all. Keep things casual and remember that some people don’t give a fuck what the strain is or what THCa is or why decarboxylation is important. Some people just wanna get high.

10. If You’re Shit at Rolling, Leave It to Someone Who’s Good

Ugh, take it from someone who sucks at rolling, this is the way to go. Don’t let your ego get into this – think of the greater good. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, so there’s no need to be ashamed of your lack of rolling skills. Compliment the skilled rollers and be grateful you have them around. Or buy cones, like the Edie Parker Flower Rolling Cones (so pretty!).

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11. Be a Good Helper

But hey, even if someone else is actually rolling, there are duties that can make their life easier, like grinding weed, rolling the filter, picking weed out of the grinder, or tidying up after. Don’t leave it all down to one person. Just because you’re not the Olympic roller in the group, that doesn’t mean you can’t be a helpful friend and get the joint ready to go faster.

12. Remember That Everyone’s Tolerance Is Different

An edible that will just about give you a chill night at home might just as easily turn someone else paralytic. Never assume people have the same tolerance as you. As someone with a high tolerance, it can be really hard to be sympathetic to the person who is absolutely zonked off a 2mg THC drink. But we all have different bodies, experiences, and habits, so be respectful and don’t make anyone feel bad for having a low tolerance.

13. No Peer Pressuring

You’re a grown adult, not 15 and trying to make your friend pass out as a joke. Pressuring someone into smoking or eating more cannabis than they’re comfortable with is so not cool, and it just makes you seem like a dick. Plus, if someone is already high, pressuring them may make them feel anxious, which is not what a good stoner friend would do to someone. Don’t you want to be a good stoner friend?

14. Never Shame Munchies

This is basically common human decency, but applies especially to the munchies. Let people enjoy their snacks! For me, the munchies are one of the most fun parts about getting high, so don’t ruin it for someone by calling attention to how many Oreos or Hot Pockets they’ve eaten. Just let them vibe with their taste buds.

15. Don’t Bic the Lighter

It’s called “Bic’ing” someone when you take their lighter, and it’s rude. If the sesh is over and you’re holding a lighter that you did not bring to the hangout, then make sure it gets back to its rightful owner. It’s just poor etiquette, and if you do it chronically, it’s especially messed up. If you do take one, make sure you replace it with something nice, like this fun Edie Parker Gum Lighter.

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16. Be Respectful of Someone’s Stash

I don’t care if it’s your bestest best friend in the entire world. If you’re smoking someone else’s weed, you need to be respectful of that. Bring your own weed to share, bring cash, buy them dinner, and let them set the pace. If you’re packing a bowl every five minutes, and they’ve only had one joint, you might want to check yourself.

17. Don’t Blow Smoke Into Your Pet’s Face

I mean, seriously, I hate that I even have to say this one. Your pet did not consent to get high, and being high without being aware of what weed even is sounds incredibly stressful. And don’t let Fido accidentally eat a weed brownie off the side table, either – it’s bad for him.

18. Be Nice to Your Neighbours (and Landlord)

Your neighbors probably smell your weed all the time, so it’s wise to be kind to them. Don’t be a weird recluse that’s always stoned. Wave hello, be friendly, and be respectful. If they ask you to stop smoking on the shared porch, the nice thing to do is to listen to them. Similarly, be extra nice to your landlord, because odds are, your lease says you shouldn’t be smoking anything on the property.

19. Don’t Light Up in Someone’s House or Car Without Asking

This should go without saying! It’s wildly disrespectful to spark a joint when you don’t have permission from the host. Always ask first, and if they say no, take it outside, back to your house, or anywhere else. Not everyone wants their house to smell like a dispensary or their car to smell like it’s been hotboxed a dozen times. I promise, you can survive a short wait until you find an appropriate area to rip a joint.

20. Leave Some Green in the Bowl for Others

When you hit a bowl, you can run the flame all over the top and kill all the green. Or you can “corner” the bowl, which means you just light half, leaving some green for the next person. Everyone wants a little bit of green, so share the wealth.

21. Don’t Cash or Snuff Too Quickly

Never ever ever ever ever cash a bowl or snuff out a joint without getting confirmation from the whole group. It’s cool if you’re done, but check with everyone before putting it out, because someone else may still be fiending and want that last rip of the blunt.

22. Follow the Rotation

Most stoners pass to the left. Some people are super intense about this, but I don’t really care which way the weed goes, as long as it eventually makes its way to me. But if you disrupt the rotation order, that means someone is missing out. Always keep the same order when passing the bud around.

23. Don’t Litter

If you smoke outside, don’t leave the blunt wrapper or the joint roach on the ground in the lovely park. Don’t leave your edible wrapper on the ground in the woods. This is not the stoner way. Be kind to the planet, because that’s where our weed comes from!

24. Compliment Your Host’s Weed

It’s common decency, but if someone smokes you up, you should say “great bud, thanks,” even if the weed is absolute garbage. They didn’t have to share shit with you, so be appreciative and pay them a little compliment as a thank you.

25. Never Gatekeep Weed

Last, but certainly not least, you’re not the first, best, or only person who likes weed. This little green plant can and should be for anyone and everyone who wants to partake. No one is too old, too lame, too uptight, too serious, or too cool. And it’s never too late to try some sweet bud for the first time.

The post 25 Rules for Smoking (and Eating) Weed Without Being a Dick appeared first on VICE.

According to Indianapolis’s Fox59, on June 17, police in Whiteland, Indiana, were called to a Pilot Travel Center after a truck driver felt like something was a little off during his standard pre-trip inspection. He noticed that the seal on his trailer, which is meant to ensure that cargo hasn’t been touched, had clearly been touched.

When officers looked inside, they found 10 boxes that weren’t part of the original shipment. Those boxes were filled with millions of dollars’ worth of cocaine.

To put a somewhat exact number on it, authorities estimate that the 350-pound haul had a street value of around $16 million. It was so much coke that the cops didn’t have enough room to store in their evidence facility. They were eventually transferred somewhere else and are scheduled for destruction or for resale if any of the corrupt cop TV shows I’ve watched are any indication.

According to reports, the trucker had no idea the cocaine was there. The guy just narrowly avoided becoming an unwitting drug mule. Meanwhile, the people on the other end of that transaction who were expecting that massive delivery were probably having a rough day.

All of this happened six months ago. The police have still not made any arrests.

The post Trucker Found $16 Million in Cocaine Mysteriously Stashed in His Semi appeared first on VICE.

It turns out psilocybin might be rewriting our brains to eliminate the toxic negative thought loops of depression that relentlessly hammer at us when were at our lowest.

Scientists used an engineered rabies virus to map how psilocybin changes brain circuitry in mice. The goal is to better understand how it might interrupt the repetitive, negative thought loops associated with depression. Or, as the researchers call it, “rumination.”

Speaking with the Cornell Chronicle, Cornell University biomedical engineer Alex Kwan said that “rumination is one of the main points for depression, where people have this unhealthy focus, and they keep dwelling on the same negative thoughts.”

Study Suggests Psilocybin Can Break Depressive Brain Loops

According to the research team, psilocybin appears to weaken the neural feedback loops that keep those thoughts running on repeat. You still feel them occasionally, but they don’t echo in your mind endlessly. Instead, they eventually fade out and allow you to move on with your day and your life.

The team gave mice a single dose of psilocybin, followed by a modified rabies virus that traces neural connections by spreading across synapses and lighting them up with fluorescent proteins. The differences were stark when the scientists compared psilocybin-treated mice to a placebo group.

Brain regions involved in sensory processing became more connected to areas responsible for action, suggesting a shift away from internal looping and toward engagement with the outside world. The cortex is where repetitive thought patterns usually form. The researchers found that those connections were reduced.

This goes hand-in-hand with other research coming out of Kawn’s lab that showed silicide causing long-lasting structural changes in the brain. This new study adds a little bit of vital detail to that. It’s rewiring the brain, and that rewiring isn’t random. The drug might strengthen or weaken brain circuits depending on how they are used at the time.

This means that one day we might be able to combine psychedelics with targeted brain stimulation techniques to manipulate where and how brain rewiring occurs, essentially physically. A psychedelic drug might one day create a world where you can take your ailing brain to a brain mechanic to get a tune-up.

Right now, the findings are limited to mice, so there’s a lot more work to be done to see if it’s transformable to humans, but it’s getting harder and harder to deny that a psychedelic drug still banned in much of the country might be exactly what we’ve long needed to help us all get out of these depressive feedback loops.

The post Psychedelics Might Fix Your Depression by Rewiring Your Brain, Study Finds appeared first on VICE.

It’s an odd use for a book, but as the Associated Press reports, that’s exactly what just happened. The sh—y memoir was recently used by 30-year-old Austin Siebert of Maumee, Ohio, to sneak an unspecified drug into a prison cleverly.

Siebert soaked the book’s pages with narcotics and mailed it to Grafton Correctional Institution disguised as an Amazon shipment. Pretty clever, but obviously he still got caught.

Drugs Hidden in Pages of JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy Were Smuggled Into an Ohio Prison

According to federal prosecutors, Hillbilly Elegy was just one of Siebert’s literary drug vehicles. He had previously used a 2019 GRE handbook and a single sheet of loose paper.

He would’ve gotten away with it this time around, too, but his calls with an inmate were being recorded. In one talk, the inmate tries to confirm which package is coming in.

“Is it Hillbilly?” he asks.

Siebert, briefly playing dumb, replies, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Then the lightbulb goes off. “Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s the book, the book I’m reading. (Expletive) romance novel.”

Folks, Hillbilly Elegy is not a romance novel. It’s a book about the ruination of rural America at the hands of people exactly like the man who wrote it, who, again, is our current vice president.

Suppose you had just mailed a famously sh—y book to an inmate with pages soaked in drugs, thus making it infinitely more useful than any plain old copy of Hillbilly Elegy has ever been to anyone. In that case, you probably should remember that little detail since it seems quite indelible. It would also help sell the con a little bit if you even know what the book is about on a fundamental level.

U.S. District Judge Donald C. Nugent sentenced Siebert on Nov. 18 to more than a decade in federal prison, a fate better than having to actually read Hillbilly Elegy.

The post How ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ Became a Vehicle for Prison Drug Smuggling appeared first on VICE.

It’s one of those eternal questions, right up there with “Is there a God?” and “What’s my fucking problem?” To get answers, VICE went to Birna Gustafsson, a university instructor on sexuality in clinical practice in NYC.

Cocaine

Birna Gustafsson: It lowers your inhibitions, but it can also numb you, both emotionally and in your genitals, as it’s a vasoconstrictor. People usually think that means just penis dysfunction but vulvas have erectile tissue, too.

Crack

You’re gonna hear me say this over and over, but a little bit can make everything better. People doing crack tend to have more extreme sensations and moodswings: they might suddenly be super into impact play or something they haven’t liked before, then moments later want to crawl out of their own skin. Also, the high’s so quick, the comedown can start before your sex is done. It would suck to go from that euphoric sensation to extreme aggravation while getting pounded.

Ecstasy 

It increases the feeling of wanting to be touched, or engage in a really long makeout session, but doesn’t necessarily make you horny for penetrative sex. It usually causes problems with erectile function, but it’s not much of an issue because the other stuff feels so good.

Ketamine

If you’re the type of person who wants to get fisted in the ass, ketamine is fantastic. It’s an anesthetic that can make you incredibly horny and helps relax the smooth muscles, like the inner sphincter, so it’s used by a lot of people who enjoy receiving anal. On the other hand, it leaves you more susceptible to injury because you won’t have any control. For me, it’s not worth it, because the threshold between an enjoyable experience and a K-hole is so minimal.

Meth

Meth is the perfect cocktail: It increases your sexual desire and removes your inhibitions—like, you’re down for whatever—and then boosts your pleasure reception by flooding your brain with dopamine. Dopamine isn’t just about feeling good; it’s also responsible for wanting. Often, people don’t want to have sex anymore because they already had an orgasm. Meth floods your brain so much you’ll keep wanting more. For people who are into really long marathon sessions, meth is an incredible thing to be on during sex. 

VICE: I sense there’s a ‘but.’
Birna Gustafsson: With frequent long-term use, it’ll reduce your sexual satisfaction and you can develop anhedonia [a medically diagnosed inability to enjoy anything about life], which will fuck up your sex life potentially for years after you get clean.

Heroin

It’s more of a cozy, warm feeling—people say heroin feels similar to having just had an orgasm, so you’re less likely to seek out sex. Also, it’s an opiate, so if you are having sex, you’re maybe not going to know if you’re being hurt.

LSD

Being able to relax makes some people extremely horny. For others, something stimulating makes them extremely horny. Psychedelics do both, so they can make people extremely horny—but in a way where they’re not connected to their body or sense of self, necessarily. It’s a great erotic experience, but are you having sex on it? That’s a different story.

Mushrooms 

There’s a sweet spot: a little bit can give you really intense full-body orgasms. But it impairs judgment. If you’re going to have sex on mushrooms, wait until after the psychedelic peak.

Weed

Weed can make you really great in bed. It can increase your stamina and focus and make you a little more creative, too. People tend to take their time more. But if you’re doing a larger dose, people say they get so high they feel like they’re “breathing on manual mode,” or they’re like, ‘Am I peeing myself?’ That’s obviously not a state you want to have sex in.

GHB

I do not recommend it for sex. It can make you super horny, but also really aggressive. The threshold is the danger factor, because a millilitre can be the difference between you being like, ‘I love this. I’m horny,’ and lying on the ground, unconscious. It’s not worth it.

VICE: Okay, so what’s actually the best?
Birna Gustafsson: I would honestly say it’s a tie between cannabis and MDMA. And I think the third runner-up would be mushrooms.

This story is from the fall 2025 issue of VICE magazine, THE BE QUIET AND DRIVE ISSUE, a Deftones special. It has now sold out—but you can subscribe to get 4 print issues of the mag each year here.

The post What’s the Best Drug for Sex? appeared first on VICE.

In the latest installment of our Rule Britannia series, VICE joins them for a night on the roads where they earn their money while playing a never-ending game of cat and mouse with police.

“It’s a small place,” explains one of the masked young dealers. “I’ll go and I might be serving up to someone that I’ve been brought up knowing. It might be my friends’ parents, know what I mean? Or people my parents are friends with. It’s mad. Everyone sort of does it.”

“It’s sad how young some of them are,” another adds. “Some as young as 12, 13 and that, innit.”

Ironically, the documentary is age-restricted, so you’ll have to watch over at the VICE YouTube channel—click here to see it.

The post Teenage Drug Empire: Watch Our New Documentary appeared first on VICE.

A collaborative, extensive study run by the combined forces of Western University, UC San Diego, and 23andMe—which collectively publish their findings in the journal Molecular Psychiatry—studied the genomes of over 130,000 people. They found two genes that seem to have a say in how often you use cannabis. Those genes are CADM2 and GRM3.

CADM2 handles cell communication, while GRN3 is tied to how your brain learns and adapts over time, and is also known for playing a role in psychiatric disorders. CADM2 had already been associated with cannabis use, but now it’s linked to frequency, too.

GRM3, on the other hand, has never before been linked to cannabis use until now.

The Connection Between Genetics and Weed

Study connected variations in these genes to a grab bag of mental and physical traits in addition to cannabis related habits, including anxiety, depression, cognition, and even diabetes.

None of this is to say that you should blame your genes for your penchant for sparking up. Researchers say that genes only explain about 13 percent of the reason why someone tries cannabis, and just six percent of how often they use it.

Everything else is the environment and the social factors therein.

But the big takeaway isn’t that weed is genetically inevitable—it’s that early cannabis use might be a behavioral flag for deeper stuff going on. Mapping these DNA breadcrumbs could help identify who’s more at risk of developing full-blown cannabis use disorder before it happens.

Your genes might be telling you to roll that joint or hit that bowl, but it’s your life experience and the people who influence you to determine whether or not you’ll take a hit truly.

The post Your Genetics Might Make You More Likely to Smoke Weed appeared first on VICE.

The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, pulls data from the long-running Monitoring the Future Panel Study. That study has been tracking young Americans’ relationships with drugs for decades.

Out of nearly 1,500 surveyed, about 22 percent admitted to using cannabis and/or alcohol for sleep within the past year. Nearly 1 in 5 people aged 19 to 30 are using cannabis or alcohol to help them fall asleep. That’s a trend, and it’s growing.

So Many Young People Are Getting High Just to Sleep

Cannabis was by far the more popular choice, as roughly 18 percent leaned on weed for sleep. Just 7 percent turned to alcohol to help them get a good night’s rest. Among regular cannabis users, a solid 41 percent said they sometimes use it to knock themselves out.

It makes sense. About 30 percent of adults in the U.S. have trouble sleeping, with young adults especially struggling to catch some sleep. We live in the age of horrific work schedules and endless scrolls designed to keep our brains wired and fried.

It’s no surprise that an ever-growing number of us are having trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep. It’s also not surprising that we’re using every supplement possible to get some rest.

The researchers say that occasional cannabis use for sleep can soon turn into dependency. Both weed and booze are decent at initiating sleep in the short term, but the more you use them, the more your body adapts, needing higher doses to achieve the same effect.

That creeping tolerance can lead to disordered use, withdrawals, and, ironically, even worse sleep than you were getting before. Not ideal, to say the least.

Researchers say more medical professionals need to ask young patients about their nighttime habits, specifically whether they are sleeping and how they’re getting to sleep. That could be key to preventing dependency before it takes hold.

The post Young People Can’t Sleep Without Getting High appeared first on VICE.

“You can smell human agony inside of the McDonald’s there. Fentanyl smoke, a distinct odor of burning SOLO Cups mixed with scorched marshmallows, an evil scent that signals suffering is nearby. ‘War Zone’ smokers have unmistakable vocal tics: anxious spit swallows from inhaling plumes of glass [crystal meth], deep croaking from opioid-aluminum lined lungs… Still, credit where it’s due: many… are working towards sobriety. An important milestone is quitting fentanyl, tapering down to heroin.”

Frank Blazquez says it’s his duty to seize what’s in front of him “before it vanishes.” Born and raised in Chicago, the self-taught photographer relocated to New Mexico in 2010 in search of a clean slate. An optician by trade, he took a job in Albuquerque and fell in with a sober crowd, intending to break the cycle of partying and excessive drug-taking that had enveloped him in Illinois.

It wasn’t long before Frank became drawn to Albuquerque’s “War Zone”—a neighborhood permeated by hard drugs, juvenile crime, and street violence—where his old ways caught up with him. Opiates, this time. By day, he worked at the optometry office. By night, he hung out and sold Oxycontin near Central Avenue and Louisiana Boulevard; “the War Zone nucleus.” 

Eventually, these two worlds collided, and Frank lost his job. When he got clean again in 2016 he enrolled at the University of New Mexico, majoring in history. Meanwhile, inspired by fellow addicts and their desire to get clean and start a new life for themselves, he began making portraits of people in the area by way of telling their stories. His work, which has been widely exhibited and displayed in the Smithsonian, is a series of love stories as much as anything else, offering a blunt but empathetic perspective on life in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Roswell, Chaparral, Artesia, Grants—places along the U.S.-Mexico border, where suffering and beauty, hardship and resilience, go hand in hand.

We caught up with Frank to talk about documenting the “War Zone,” what it’s like capturing the rhythm of lives dictated by fentanyl and meth as a recovering addict, and the impact of recent ICE raids on communities in New Mexico.

VICE: You say your work provides “counter-narratives” of New Mexico. What aspects of it would you like people to see through your photos?
Frank Blazquez: I witnessed the power of counter-narratives at the Smithsonian, images challenging the status quo. As a recovering opiate addict, seeing a photograph I made in Belen, New Mexico—a town of 7,000—hanging next to a portrait of Donald Trump was proof that images can equalize, that the margins can stand eye to eye with authority.

On expectations, I respect audience feedback, but I’d rather focus on my perspective, what I want to see through them. For me, it’s essential to reveal insulated pain, the fatigue of routine and memorials that hold people together. I want to capture anticipation, the strange suspension of time that hangs over these lives. My work isn’t here to entertain, seizing what’s in front of me before it vanishes is the mission. 

A lot of your photos are of people living in Albuquerque’s “War Zone.” How would you describe it?
The War Zone is in southeast Albuquerque. Violent robberies occur there frequently. Historically, the presence of blues describes it best. Blues are oxycodone pills. Now they’ve transformed into fentanyl pills and are almost extinct as its evolved powder form has arrived. Residents are accustomed to seeing body bags on asphalt, usually the victims of overdose. Burglar bar windows, slumping adobe motels, shockwaves of gunfire at night. Above it all, the Sandia Mountains press against the sky, crowned in pink light at sunset. 

What’s daily life like for people there? 
Fentanyl powder and crystal methamphetamine. They dictate everything. You can smell human agony inside of the McDonald’s there. Fentanyl smoke, a distinct odor of burning SOLO Cups mixed with scorched marshmallows, an evil scent that signals suffering is nearby. War Zone smokers have unmistakable vocal tics: anxious spit swallows from inhaling plumes of glass, deep croaking from opioid-aluminium lined lungs. Since the pandemic, most users chase the impossible. Smoking shards and opiate abuse—comorbidities of an addict, a combo that makes sobriety unattainable. Beating opiates alone is a 100-to-1 shot, but then they have to win back-to-back championships and do it all over again with meth.

Still, credit where it’s due: many War Zone drug users are working towards sobriety. An important milestone is quitting fentanyl, tapering down to heroin. I heard this in a conversation at a War Zone gas station: “Congratulations, I heard you quit blues [fentanyl] and only shoot black [heroin] now!”

What was it that first drew you to Albuquerque from Chicago?
I was doing a lot of drugs in Illinois. We thought moving to New Mexico would fix it. The desert stripped everything down. No distractions, no hiding. The sun here burns slow, you don’t know if it’s helping or burning you alive. I had to learn that the hard way. 

“My work isn’t here to entertain, seizing what’s in front of me before it vanishes is the mission.”

You photograph a lot of gang members, former addicts, the insides of trap houses. How do you go about gaining the trust of the people you photograph? 
The spaces are threatening. I never forget that. Yet truth finds a way inside—it strips everything down. No armor, no pretense. That willingness to step into their reality is what earns me the chance to photograph it. 

A decade ago I would just knock on random doors and stop people walking on streets to take their portraits. Back then I carried this blind optimism, like safety was guaranteed. The city shifted, crime rose. Parts of Albuquerque became more violent and having been robbed at gunpoint, I had to take precautions. In my earlier work, I encountered killers out on bond on the sidewalk, and I wanted to capture their prison tattoos. A guy had a huge gang emblem across his forehead, he said he was going rob me—he said it so calmly. My hand was shaking as I was holding the camera. He laughed and just rode off. 

How would you describe your relationship to the people you photograph? Are you strictly an observer or do you feel more connected? 
I am more of an observer now. Shooting documentary-style, it’s wise to shut up and remain quiet. Moments can fade within seconds and never return. I thought silence had to be fought off, so I filled it with conversation. Silence isn’t empty, it’s the canvas. People show themselves when they forget you’re there.

One man you photographed told you that “learning about guns at a young age is like our version of Boy Scouts in New Mexico.” How would you describe gun culture there?
Kids carry guns in New Mexico. Teens feel vulnerable to physical harm and a gun simply provides a sense of security. That’s what they all tell me. Yet over the summer, in downtown Albuquerque, I saw a young girl gripping an assault rifle while driving a pick-up truck. Her head, so tiny in this huge vehicle with pink aftermarket interior lights flashing to a pattern of stereo music—clutching the rifle with her free hand as it stood up on the floorboard. 

What’s the story behind the pen and the gun?
I was photographing inside a trap house, more like trap trailer, when I found that pen. One of the women living there worked at a CVS years back, pocketing promo items from sales reps. I was locked in the bathroom while the others used. Nobody wanted a camera around in those moments. The pen and the gun together felt like artifacts, addiction and survival, commerce and violence, the realities of New Mexico condensed into objects on a sink.

“I was locked in the bathroom while the others used. Nobody wanted a camera around in those moments”

In a previous interview, you mentioned that around the time you started pursuing photography and self-promoting on Instagram, locals and old friends would hit you up asking you to take their portraits. What do you think is the impulse behind that? 
At that time, I was kicking heroin and oxy. I was researching documentary stills from the FSA years up to the early 1990s. I read photographers simply shot what was in proximity to their homes. One night, desperate to shake the sickness, I said fuck it, grabbed my camera and left. It became a form of detox—every click of the shutter was a way to outpace withdrawal.

Weird prison tattoos, handguns on tables, Suboxone strips, old trailer homes. I wanted to keep a textbook for myself with notes in the margins, almost like a fucked up encyclopedia or something. Those first nights of withdrawal are strange—the body switches between exhaustion and manic surges of drive. I tried to burn time until the sickness passed. In those early years it was easy because my first subjects knew me. Then I started to branch out to real street photography, walking block to block.

There’s a real tenderness to your work. Obvious hardship, but warmth and resilience too. How would you describe your style?
I can explain the process of my technique sort of like this: I investigate to determine what frame/moment I’ll never see again. I try to catch that one piece of light in between a transition of thought, it’s the most authentic.

My style pushes to maintain congruency between intention, free will, and risk, a slippery trio artists usually lose control of. Like a blue marlin, you think it’s hooked until the line snaps.

The warmth is likely pulled from my first memories of opiate usage. Before I got sober, chasing that perfectly manufactured hot tub temperature along my spine was everything. Painkillers uncovered a hidden thermostat wired to my body, a private control over joy and pain. Maybe art is a way for me to feel it again.

You’ve lived in New Mexico for a long time now. How have you seen it change? 
Guns. More guns. The shift isn’t abstract, it’s audible. Automatic rifle fire rattles through the air more often, the sound embedded in daily life. And it’s not just Albuquerque; it’s America’s soundtrack. The rhythm of mass shootings has become background noise, a culture that measures time in gun deaths. 

There have been several high-profile ICE raids and counter-protests in Albuquerque over the last few months. I’m wondering what the impact of the current climate has been on the individuals you work with, and how communities are responding to it? 
ICE is here now in New Mexico. The National Guard rolled in this past summer. Some of the people I photograph barely blinked. Business as usual. For the government, the optics are clean and convenient, but on the ground the suffering doesn’t change. Addiction defeats any deployment. The rot runs through poverty, erosion of family bonds—all controlled by chemical dependency. Troops and federal reinforcements are useless against substance abuse.

You mentioned in a previous interview that often the people you photograph identify as New Mexican before anything else. I’m curious to hear more about why you think that is, and whether that connection has changed—or even strengthened—in light of recent events?
There’s an unwavering connection to statehood here. Families can trace their ancestry back to this exact land as far as the 16th century, further still for Native American communities who’ve been rooted here since long before. New Mexico is stitched with that history, and despite its fractures, most people will tell you the same thing, this place is, and always will be, home.

Zach Gutierrez, who appears in one of the photos you sent over, sadly passed away this summer. Would you be happy to talk about your relationship to him?
In 2019 I read a local story about a 17-year-old charged with first-degree murder. A man walking his dog in Santa Fe was killed, and this kid was out on bail. I wanted to know what life looks like for someone that young, facing the possibility of living inside of a concrete box forever. He always swore he was innocent. I expected a teenager waiting for a murder trial to be in a perpetual state of anxiety. Zachary wasn’t. He played video games, made music, moved through his days like normal. In 2021 he was cleared of that charge. He died in June of this year.

Zachary was a kid on a heavy supply of buprenorphine—like he would take three normal-dose 8 mg/2mg strips a day. He told me about his life as a child-runaway, accepting realities at such a young age. It was certainly unsettling to watch him, this youngster, charge his court ordered ankle monitor like an iPhone. 

The nature of your work, and the pockets of society you focus on, does put you in fairly close proximity to loss of life. How do you deal with that on a personal level?
Several of my subjects are dead now. Street life. Wrapping my head around the fact I’ll never see them again is unbelievable. I photographed a man named Felipe in 2017 and six years later he was shot to death. There’s a coldness to it that I try to dissociate from. Part grief, part regret, part impossible wish that I could move time, step back into that moment, and stop it from happening. That’s the hardest part of this work, you carry their faces, but not their futures.

The photo of Zombie and the photo of the teenager making macaroni are two of my favorites. They feel oddly juxtaposed to me—the kid cooking dinner with a pistol in his waistband, and an established drug dealer doing comparatively chill-looking admin in a Motel 6. They kinda reflect aspirations and reality, if you know what I mean. 
Yes, it’s a rhythm of existence. Zombie is a typical shards dealer. I once watched him smoke crystal out of a glass bubble right in front of an Albuquerque police officer with no consequences. He carried himself with this confidence—he knew exactly what he could get away with. I was staring at the ground thinking, holy shit, he’s about to get arrested in seconds. Nothing happened. That’s when I realized how far I was from the reality of the entrenched life of a street addict.

The kid cooking with pistols in his waistband, that’s innocence colliding with survival, childhood and adulthood caught in the same frame. And those extended magazines sticking out. To me they looked absurd, like Lego blocks or power tools at first glance. That strangeness is what makes the image potent, so surreal it becomes ordinary.

You can find more of Frank’s work on Instagram.

The post Inside the Trap Houses of Albuquerque’s ‘War Zone’ appeared first on VICE.

Spears has called the story “white lies,” but the accusation has reopened a real and uncomfortable question: what does cocaine actually do to breast milk, and what happens to a baby exposed to it?

Cocaine is a powerful stimulant that alters the central nervous system, raising heart rate and blood pressure while flooding the brain with the feel-good chemical, dopamine. It’s also incredibly addictive. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, about 25 million people worldwide use cocaine each year, including hundreds of thousands of pregnant women.

How Does Doing Cocaine Affect Your Breast Milk—and Your Baby?

When a nursing parent uses cocaine, the drug passes into breast milk almost immediately. Studies have shown that it can remain there for up to 36 hours, depending on how much was taken. One documented case found cocaine levels of 10 to 15 micrograms per liter in milk 12 hours after a woman reportedly snorted 500 milligrams. That’s about 10 lines. By 36 hours, the levels had dropped below measurable limits, but the risk during that window is significant.

Pumping and dumping won’t do you any good. Experts at the University of Washington Medical Center recommend discarding milk for at least a day and a half after using cocaine and keeping the baby away from anyone smoking it nearby. “Secondhand smoke from free-based cocaine can cause the same symptoms in your baby as it does in the user,” the team warns.

Infants exposed to cocaine can experience serious complications because their bodies can’t break the drug down efficiently. Reported symptoms include rapid heart rate, high blood pressure, breathing problems, digestive distress, seizures, and developmental delays. In extreme cases, it can be fatal. Between 2015 and 2017, cocaine was cited on the death certificates of 78 U.S. infants, according to the CDC.

For comparison, alcohol exposure through breast milk can interfere with sleep and growth, but cocaine’s impact tends to be faster and more severe. The difference is that alcohol is metabolized predictably. Cocaine isn’t.

Whether Federline’s story is true or another attack on the already-questionable Spears, the science stays the same. Cocaine and breastfeeding don’t mix.

The post What Does Cocaine Do to Your Breast Milk? appeared first on VICE.