> How do you do drugs when you don’t have money to buy drugs?

I think the top comment up the chain has already mentioned one approach, which is "chop up stolen bikes". There are plenty of other options, but that one would be a solid start. Given the typical price of the kind of bikes that get stolen and chopped, that's a pretty solid income for drugs.

Seattle's local news station had an interesting coverage last year on the topic of stolen bikes specifically[0]. Take a look at the following quote:

> “So we have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 bikes all reported stolen in the Seattle area,” says Hance. “Not all of them have prices. This one does. It’s $5,000 bucks. This one’s $1,500. This one’s $5,000. This one’s $900.”

Obviously the stolen ones will be selling for cheaper than the prices you see above. But even if we say that the stolen price is only 25% of the real cost (totally guessing, as i have no idea for the price conversion of stolen to clean), that's still quite plenty for drug money.

0. https://www.kiro7.com/news/jesse-jones/stolen-bikes-can-be-a...

You steal. What do you think "I get bike parts from various places" means? There's a special hell for bike thieves. I have empathy for the person and their situation, but not for their actions.

You survive off food banks and soup kitchens, and beg for drug and booze money.

Homeless people still have money. Many hold down a job, some even full time. They just don't have enough money to make rent.

Drugs are pretty cheap when you aren't paying rent.

Burglary and robbery.

Sell drugs for your dealer, prostitution, etc.

Offer other things as compensation.