“If you give them any money, they’ll only spend it on drugs."
Nearly every city-dweller has heard this argument against giving money to panhandlers. But now, a new European magazine actually aims to do just that. Called Illegal!, the magazine is sold by drug users, with their individual profits hopefully deterring them from crime by giving them a less destructive way to fund their habits. Launched in Copenhagen last year, the first English-language edition of the magazine hit the streets of London this month. Working on the same model as The Big Issue, a newspaper sold by the homeless, Illegal! allows vendors to sell the magazine on the streets with a substantial markup from its production cost—with a clear warning that the profits may end up being spent on fueling the seller’s drug habit.
[For more of this story, written by Feargus O'Sullivan, go to http://www.citylab.com/work/20...tionslegally/383140/]
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