John Ritchie (Sid Vicious) was an English musician. He was born in 1957 at London and died in 1979 of a heroin overdose. As Sid Vicious he joined the punk rock band the 'Sex Pistols' as bass guitarist when Glen Matlock left the band, and immediately became a youth icon. Research John Ritchie
Laura Bridgman was an American heroin. She was born in 1829 at Hanover, New Hampshire and died in 1889. Until the age of two years she was a bright, active child, when a severe illness deprived her of the senses of sight, hearing, and smell, and partly also of that of taste. She was put under the care of a Dr. Howe of Boston, and the history of the methods by which she was gradually taught to read, write, and eventually perform most of the ordinary duties, and even some of the accomplishments, of life, became famous. She became herself a teacher of persons similarly afflicted, and much to the surprise of ordinary people at the time led an active and almost ordinary life. Research Laura Bridgman
Billie (Eleanora) Holiday was a black American jazz singer, actress, civil rights activist and former prostitute. She was born in 1915 at Baltimore and died in 1959. Billie Holiday was the first Black civil rights activist, regularly singing about institutional racism in America, and in 1939 releasing a song ('Strange Fruit') about the lynching of a Black man. Perhaps in response to her influence the establishment hounded her for her heroinaddiction, playing down her incredible musical talent and the message she was spreading of one love, of all people irrespective of race or skin colour, which was later taken up by Martin Luther king. Raped as a child, Billie Holiday was sent to a girls' reformatory when she was eleven where she was terribly abused, before later in life going to live with her mother who worked in a brothel. As an adult she was regularly heckled and arrested at her concerts, abused by the men in her life and understandably turned to drink and drugs to escape and forget; eventually dying from the abuse that was inflicted upon the Black community by the white American establishment. Research Billie Holiday
Addiction is a state of dependence caused by the habitual use of drugs, alcohol, or other substances. It is characterised by uncontrolled craving, tolerance, and symptoms of withdrawal when access is denied. Habitual use produces changes in body chemistry and treatment must be geared to a gradual reduction in dosage. Initially, only opium and its derivatives (morphine, heroin, codeine) were recognised as addictive, but many other drugs, whether therapeutic (such as tranquillisers) or recreational (such as cocaine and alcohol), are now known to be addictive. Research points to a genetic predisposition to addiction; environment and psychological make-up are other factors. Although physical addiction always has a psychological element, not all psychological dependence is accompanied by physical dependence. A carefully controlled withdrawal programme can reverse the chemical changes of habituation. A cure is difficult because of the many other factors contributing to addiction. Research Addiction
Heroin (diacetylmorphine) is a powerful opiate analgesic derived from morphine. A sedative, heroin is used illicitly to produce intense euphoria. Heroin is so called because one of its effects is to make the user believe there is a 'hero in them'. Research Heroin
September 11th (9/11) was the name given for the assault on the USA on September the 11th 2001 in which almost 3000 people were killed (original figures quoted in excess of 5000, this was later and quietly revised down and in February 2002 was reported at almost 2400, rising to almost 3000 in September 2002) at the World Trade centre and Pentagon when hijacked passenger aircraft were supposedly flown into them by suicide bombers. The assault was claimed by the Americans to have been masterminded by Osama Bin Laden, whom it was claimed was being sheletered by the Taleban regime in Afghanistan. Their refusal to hand him over to the Americans was the excuse needed by America and her allyBritain together with Afghan opposition forces (the Northern Alliance) to launch an all-out war against Afghanistan under the pretext that Afghanistan was involved in attacks against the West (this despite the fact that those involved in the September the 11th assault had been predominantly Saudi Arabian - 17 of the 19 hijackers being Saudi).
The war resulted in the destruction of Afghanistan's already pitiful infrastructure and the overthrow of the Taleban regime. Critics question the motives for the war against a country which produces around 75% of the world's heroin, and which had just been prevented from producing the drug by its ruling regime (the Taleban banned poppy planting in July 2000) - with the Taleban removed, intensive poppy planting got underway in late 2001 and the 2002 crop is expected to be a bumper crop. American and British objections to the Taleban regime had been passive and negligible for many years, the war happened to occur so soon after the Taleban's ban on opium production and failed in its declared objective which was to kill or capture Osama Bin Laden, leading critics to question the real reason for the war against a country with no army, air force or navy. Further controversy arose when it was revealed that thousands of Taleban prisoners of war had been murdered by Northern Alliance troops under the observation of American troops who made no attempt to prevent the massacre and subsequent hiding of the bodies.
After the September 11th incident suspicions were aroused that the attack may have been staged by the USA to justify a war against Afghanistan, Iraq and subsequently Iran and Syria also. Critics draw attention to similarities with 'Operation Northwoods' which was planned in 1962 to provide justification for a war against Cuba.
The Organized Crime Information Systems (OCIS) is an American FBIcomputer system started in 1980 in Detroit, Michigan and allows agents in different field offices to share and analyze information collected in each other' s areas. This system was used to identify some of the United States citizens who were released from Cuban prisons in 1984 that had criminal histories in the United States. An OCIS link was later opened in Rome, where it is used to support drug investigations. The OCIS system was used in the major Sicilianmafiaheroin investigation, commonly referred to as 'The Pizza Connection'. According to Webster, 'OCIS support ranged from direct assistance in collating information for TitleIII court-authorized wiretaps to the analysis of the case for grand jury presentation.' Research Organized Crime Information Systems
Basquiat is a biographical drama starring Jeffrey Wright, Michael Wincott, Benicio Del Toro and Claire Forlani in the story of the graffiti artist Jean Michel Basquiat who became the talk of the New York art scene, and his battle with his heroinaddiction. Basquiat was directed by Julian Schnabel in 1996. Research Basquiat
Dog Soldiers is a crime drama starring Nick Nolte, Tuesday Weld and Michael Moriarty in a story about a Vietnam War journalist smuggling heroin into the USA. Dog Soldiers was directed by Karel Reisz in 1978.
Dog Soldiers is a horror film starring Sean Pertwee, Kevin McKidd, Emma Cleasby, Liam Cunningham, Darren Morfitt, Chris Robson and Thomas Lockyer in a story about a squad of soldiers on manoeuvres in the Scottish Highlands becoming the victims of a pack of werewolves. Dog Soldiers was directed by Neil Marshall in 2002. Research Dog Soldiers
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Charlie Parker
