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These are the sex, drug, and gambling capitals of America
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-vice-capitals-of-america-2014-07-25
Cities won’t be adding these credits to their tourism brochures
It probably won’t come as a surprise that Las Vegas is the gambling capital of the U.S., but new research suggests more unassuming cities do some brisk trade in vices, too.
Among infamous Class A drugs, Des Moines, Iowa, was the vice capital for cocaine and Columbus, Ohio, had the dubious honor for heroin, according to an analysis by DrugAbuse.com of words mentioned in more than 450,000 tweets that were “geo-tagged” in cities with a population of at least 200,000. DrugAbuse.com is a site that provides resources and treatment on drug addiction. “People often hear in the news that a particular city has become a capital for certain activities, and more often than not, it’s something that can be viewed as a vice,” says Sam Deford, spokesman for DrugAbuse.com.
Denver, which legalized marijuana for recreational use in January, had the most tweets per capita for that drug, while Buffalo, N.Y., had the most for MDMA — or ecstasy — a drug that was popular at dance parties in the 1990s. Pittsburgh was the vice capital for alcohol, Albuquerque, N.M., was named the vice capital for crystal meth, and New Orleans was the vice capital for both prescription drugs and sex. “It’s an accurate reflection of people who tweet and are willing to talk about these things,” says Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, co-director of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center in Santa Monica, Calif.
While addiction counselors say people tweet codes like “tar” for heroin, people may view it as fairly normal or socially acceptable to tweet about these things in cities that have reputations for vice, Liccardo Pacula says. Nevada has always been known as Sin City and New Orleans as The Big Easy, she says, “so it’s not surprising that these cities have lots of people tweeting on stuff viewed as not that extraordinary any more, such as drug use or sex. “I’m not sure people in any city would find it appropriate to chat about human trafficking, unless they are identifying it as a problem,” she adds.
Chicago, Boston and New York have some of the highest heroin-related hospital admissions in the country, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, while Washington has one of the highest rates of cocaine.
Some cities can be more “heterogeneous” for drugs, Liccardo Pacula says. The northeast has had a big problem with heroin, particularly Vermont, while rural areas proved fertile ground for the manufacture of crystal meth. “Chicago was known for crack cocaine and heroin,” she adds. “Drug barons in Chicago were not about to let a [competing] drug like meth get into that market.”
Cities won’t be adding these credits to their tourism brochures
It probably won’t come as a surprise that Las Vegas is the gambling capital of the U.S., but new research suggests more unassuming cities do some brisk trade in vices, too.
Among infamous Class A drugs, Des Moines, Iowa, was the vice capital for cocaine and Columbus, Ohio, had the dubious honor for heroin, according to an analysis by DrugAbuse.com of words mentioned in more than 450,000 tweets that were “geo-tagged” in cities with a population of at least 200,000. DrugAbuse.com is a site that provides resources and treatment on drug addiction. “People often hear in the news that a particular city has become a capital for certain activities, and more often than not, it’s something that can be viewed as a vice,” says Sam Deford, spokesman for DrugAbuse.com.
Denver, which legalized marijuana for recreational use in January, had the most tweets per capita for that drug, while Buffalo, N.Y., had the most for MDMA — or ecstasy — a drug that was popular at dance parties in the 1990s. Pittsburgh was the vice capital for alcohol, Albuquerque, N.M., was named the vice capital for crystal meth, and New Orleans was the vice capital for both prescription drugs and sex. “It’s an accurate reflection of people who tweet and are willing to talk about these things,” says Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, co-director of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center in Santa Monica, Calif.
While addiction counselors say people tweet codes like “tar” for heroin, people may view it as fairly normal or socially acceptable to tweet about these things in cities that have reputations for vice, Liccardo Pacula says. Nevada has always been known as Sin City and New Orleans as The Big Easy, she says, “so it’s not surprising that these cities have lots of people tweeting on stuff viewed as not that extraordinary any more, such as drug use or sex. “I’m not sure people in any city would find it appropriate to chat about human trafficking, unless they are identifying it as a problem,” she adds.
Chicago, Boston and New York have some of the highest heroin-related hospital admissions in the country, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, while Washington has one of the highest rates of cocaine.
Some cities can be more “heterogeneous” for drugs, Liccardo Pacula says. The northeast has had a big problem with heroin, particularly Vermont, while rural areas proved fertile ground for the manufacture of crystal meth. “Chicago was known for crack cocaine and heroin,” she adds. “Drug barons in Chicago were not about to let a [competing] drug like meth get into that market.”
Things that make you go hmm... I wonder if ABQ was the meth capital before Breaking bad. And where are those Iowans getting their coke? Of course Pittsburgh goes for the lamest vice ever. DUI is a serious problem there as there's not much public transit.
13 replies
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Don't be too sure about that. 
after all those drugs? I would go to New Orleans and Denver, and skip the rest.
The name "The Big Easy" for NOLA has nothing to do with sex. Musicians called it that years ago because it was so easy to get a gig there.
edit: Also, Nevada is a state. Las Vegas has always been known as Sin City. 
Per capita though, I wonder how well Portland measures to both towns there. We here have the largest number of strip clubs per capita of any major city....