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Joe, 30, is from Des Moines, where he mom still lives. He was a line cook at many restaurants, even top end ones, but was repeatedly fired for drinking. Hearing about Salt Lake City's low unemployment rate, he came here, but has been living on its streets. Someone stole his backpack, which had his birth certificate and social security card, and several teeth have been knocked out in a fight. He cheerfully showed me his scraped fist from another tussle, just that day. There's a new drug called "spice," he informed me, which combines herbs and chemicals, each perfectly legal, but in changing combination may land you in a hospital, or even kill you. With a high lasting up to 45 minutes, it only costs $2 per joint, making it super attractive among the empty pocketed. When Joe was in the emergency room a while back, a nurse said there had been at least one spice victim in there each day.



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