from the hot zone...

TEHRAN -- In the unforgiving world of heroin addiction, 43-year-old Ali is a model of self-restraint. Anybody that is still alive after doing smack for 22 years -- an endless cycle of searching, scoring, shooting -- must know how to hold back a little.

"Most of my friends are already dead," he says during an interview inside the Persepolis Harm Reduction Center, off a back alley in a shabby part of Tehran. "But since I was working I didn't overdose."

The Iranian government estimates there are at least two million people using drugs in a nation of 78 million. Of those, 200,000 are intravenous drug users and at least 50,000 are infected with HIV -- including Ali.

one of the highlights of this story is the comments at the bottom. some highlights:

http://www.trollwars.com The nominations for our contest to win a domain are coming soon! Better get in quick if you plan on a shot at it! "Live Trolling" with the opening of our new chat room is getting off the ground slowly but surely!

$20.00 a day? I'm moving to Iran...

this proves that everything is connected.