RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — This country is now the world’s biggest crack market with over a million users, according to recent international studies.
It’s so bad, the health minister called it an “epidemic” and the government announced a $2 billion program to combat it last December.
"Crakolandias," where users gather to get high, have sprouted up in Rio and other Brazilian cities.
Rio's government launched a controversial policy of mandatory treatment for addicts in February, but there is still no sign it has made an impact. When authorities show up in one place, addicts flee, and a new crackland soon appears somewhere else.
But evangelical church groups have had some surprising success helping “crakudos,” as addicts here are called.
More from GlobalPost: Evangelicals challenge Catholics' dominance in Brazil
We want to hear your feedback so we can keep improving our website, theworld.org. Please fill out this quick survey and let us know your thoughts (your answers will be anonymous). Thanks for your time!