text: From teenage mothers and fathers to truck drivers and homeless addicts, Brazil's 24 hour drugs market Crackland has become home to people from all walks of life. Located in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, crack cocaine users visit the open-air bazaars to buy rocks of the drug and smoke it in plain sight, day or night. As the country's drugs crisis reaches epidemic levels, its markets pull in anyone looking to get high. Some of whom once held jobs, had loving families and harbored dreams of a better existence - all lost to their addictions. Scroll down for video . Patricia Sebastiao, 22 who has a 2-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son, is pregnant with her third child who is due in the nexrt few months but returns to Crackland where she poses for a photograph . Andrea, better known as Loira, which is the Portuguese word for 'blonde,' poses for a portrait in an open-air crack cocaine market. Andrea says she is married and has a home, but she keeps returning to Crackland to feed her addiction . Daniela Pinto, 39, her thin arms jutting from her red dress, has been a crack user for 4 years and has been living in this Crackland for about 4 months. She says she wants freedom, peace and love, but most importantly she wants to be freed from her addiction . A makeshift portrait studio - a scavenged chair set in front of a white backdrop, illuminated by two small lights - draws crack users from their nightmarish surroundings for a photography project. One of those willing to open up and share her story was 17-year-old Ketellin Silva who posed for a portrait in the open-air crack cocaine market. Ketellin, who first became a mother to little girl when she was just 14, clings on tightly to a stuffed animal. The toy dog, she says, belongs to her baby boy who was born premature and still remains in hospital while she returns to the crack market. Crack user Ketellin Silva 17, the mother of a 3-year-old girl and baby boy, clings to a stuffed toy dog which she says belongs to her premature infant son who remains hospitalized . Renato Dias, 39, pictured at Crackland in Rio de Janeiro's slums, has been using crack for about 4 years and says he uses his notebook as a form of distraction. He writes about super heroes and dreams of becoming one . Long-term crack addict Sancler Rodrigues, 32, said he has been smoking the drug for 7 or 8 years but was proud to pose for a portrait at Crackland, telling the photographer 'I didn't think my old black shirt would look good in your photo, so I borrowed this from friend' Carla Chris, 35,  who has been using crack for over 6 years, says getting into crack was easy. What is difficult is finding an opportunity on the outside. But she pushes herself everyday, saying: 'Smile because life is beautiful. Jesus loves you and victory is certain. I am capable, prepared and self-sufficient, so I can do for myself' Daniela Pinto, her thin arms jutting from her red dress, has been visiting Crackland for four months. The 39-year-old says she wants freedom, peace and love but, like so many others, she wants to be freed from her addiction most of all. Andrea, better known as Loira, which is the Portuguese word for 'blonde,' is married and has a loving family at home but it doesn't stop her sneaking out to visit the market. Patricia Sebastiao, 22, already has a two-year-old daughter and one-year-old son, and is expecting her third in a few months. But despite being pregnant, she cannot stop herself from returning to Crackland to feed her addiction and leaves her children behind to visit the drugs market. Brazil has become the world's top consumer of crack cocaine, according to some recent studies, as government programs fail to stem the rapid spread of drug use. Valeria de Brito, 36, a user for eight years, said she does not like the Crackland environment and prefers to use drugs elsewhere . Henrique Felix Santos, 41, was philosophical about his long term battle with addiction and said: 'The expression of each human being is consistent with reality' Douglas Wallace, 26, poses for a portrait in Crackland as recent studies show that Brazil now consumes more crack than any other country . Entrepreneur Carla Cristina, 26, poses for a portrait next to her water stand in an open-air crack cocaine market where she sells cups of water with an aluminum seal, which users will transform into makeshift pipes for smoking their crack . Lucilene Gomes, 44, adjusts her hair in preparation for a portrait in a makeshift studio made up of an old chair against a white backdrop illuminated by two small lights at the market . It currently has an estimated 1 million users of the drug - a cheap and highly addictive derivative of the coca plant grown in neighboring countries. Writers, entrepreneurs and young mothers mingle among users who have given up hope of their dreams and ever shaking their addictions. Eduardo Santos de Souza, 46, who has fathered eight children with four different women says he has tried to cut down on his drug use and has a life outside Crackland. Others seem to have accepted their life here. Henrique Felix Santos, 41, who said he had been an addict for a long time, has grown philosophical about his life at Crackland. 'The expression of each human being is consistent with reality,' he said. While crack user of four years Renato Dias, 39, escapes reality by writing stories about super heroes, and Carla Chris, 35, clings onto optimism. 'Smile because life is beautiful,' she said. Eduardo Santos de Souza, 46, has fathered eight children by four differnt women but said he has now cut down on his drug use and is building  a life outside Crackland . Andre Oliveira, 32, pictured outside a skip of rubbish at Crackland where he makes a living by collecting discarded, recyclable items on the streets . Jorge, 35,  poses for a portrait in the drugs market which attracts teenage mothers, truck drivers, fathers, homeless, those struggling with mental illness . Anderson Pereira, 23, pictured wearing a T-shirt with a message that reads in Portuguese; 'Nothing should seem natural' in Crackland . Jose Mauricio Oliveira, 41, at Crackland in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil which attracts people from all walks of life, some of whom once held jobs, some with loving families, who harbored dreams of a better existence, all lost to their addiction .
target: The markets in Rio de Janeiro's slums - known as 'Crackland' attract people from all walks of life looking to get high .
  From pregnant young mothers to hopeless old addicts users come day and night to smoke crack in plain sight .
  Brazil, according to recent studies, is the world's top consumer of crack cocaine with estimated 1 million users .