The popular HBO series, The Wire, is a glimpse into the dregs of society in Baltimore, MD. The series focuses on drug culture, public school failures, labor racketeering and the methods Baltimore city employed to deal with these situations through politics and law enforcement.  In season 3, Major Howard ‘Bunny’ Colvin implements a radical concept to contain the drug culture of the Western District, one of the poorest and most dangerous areas in Baltimore.  One area of the Western District becomes a a safe drug zone where people are free to sell and buy illegal narcotics.  The only rule Colvin mandates for Hamsterdam, the safe drug zone, is no violence.  This enclave acts as a haven for drug dealers and users to indulge in their illicit behaviors without reproach and there are even resources like clean needles and condoms for prostitutes and drug users to carry out their deeds ‘safely’.  Furthering the utopian feeling, the other residents of the Western District are able to live without fear of gun violence, theft and gang activity.  Seemingly, Major Colvin creates an urban Utopia in the Western District where drug use is legal and residents are free to live without fear.  But, Major Colvin’s experiment creates a chaotic space where children of drug abusers are neglected, drug users are not getting help to end their habits and the dregs of inner-city poverty-stricken society are at play, creating a sense of dystopia.

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