Drug Dealers Use Marketing To Establish Brand Loyalty

Marketing is essential for any business to survive including the illegal drug trade. Dealers are placing words and/or images on packages of heroin they sell. “The heroin trade goes by word of mouth,” [Pittsburgh police narcotics Cmdr. Maurita] Bryant said. “Say there’s a user who has a stamp bag with a smiley face on it. The user will start talking about how good the stuff was, and it’s almost like free advertising.” (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE) Dealers are constantly competing for the best product and they need to stay ahead of the rest with their stamps otherwise they will get copycats since there’s no copyright laws on the streets. However “the relatively low price for a stamp bag and the use of cartoon characters and other familiar images on the bags can make heroin alluring to young people, said Mike Manko, a spokesman for Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr.” (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE)