Traveling Exhibit Shows Perils of Illegal Drug Use
A trashed 1994 Thunderbird driven by a man high on cocaine, barbiturates and marijuana serves as a reminder of the dangers of illegal drug use in Target America: Drug Traffickers, Terrorists and You, a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) traveling museum exhibit, USA Today reported Sept. 12.
According to DEA agents, the driver of the car killed a 31-year-old woman in Ohio. The man is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence. The car is the centerpiece display in an exhibit that explores the societal costs of the production, trafficking, and use of illegal drugs.
"I want Americans to realize that, although they may not use drugs, everyone is impacted by drug use in this country," said Karen Tandy, DEA administrator. "That car represents the threat to every one of us on the road."
Other exhibits feature graphic photos and artifacts. One display, for instance, links illegal drugs to the financing of rebel armies and terrorists. Visitors are able to trace the path of cocaine and heroin from drug labs in Afghanistan and Colombia to the pockets of insurgents in Colombia and Peru and terrorist organizations.
"Someone who thinks he or she is making an individual choice that won't harm anyone else is not seeing the larger picture of where their money eventually goes," said Anthony Placido, special agent in charge of the New York division of the DEA.
In other sections of the exhibit, visitors can look into a replica of a crack house, see an actual cocaine lab uncovered by DEA agents in Columbia, and view prom, graduation, and school photographs on the "Wall of Lost Talent" -- depicting individuals who died from drugs.
The exhibit is on display through January in the lobby of One Times Square in New York City. The exhibit has been shown in other cities, including Dallas, Texas, and Omaha, Neb.
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