Sunday 10 April 2011

Dairy: Waiting for Your Drug Dealer


When you are hanging out or wanting to score, nothing bothers a drug user more than waiting. Most readers here have probably scored at sometime in their lives so you probably know what I’m talking about. But when you’re an addict and the drug involved is heroin, the stakes are raised by at least ten fold. The combination of anticipation and withdrawal creates an uneasy mix that most addicts would encounter on a regular basis. And the question that crosses everyone’s mind when waiting to score is why the fuck is my dealer late ... again! Surely a heroin dealer - who is most likely addicted as well - knows how much angst is caused by waiting for drugs. They too had to score like the rest of us at one stage and know what’s involved. So why are drug dealers always late?

Low level dealers also have to score except now they wait for a bigger dealer. This must keep them familiar with the concept of waiting. But for some reason - one which I have never been able to establish - they are always late. They all do it but unfortunately, my dealer is the worst. Let me give you some examples.

My dealer’s name is Tan. A decent chap who I have known for over ten years. He is mostly fair with the size of his deals and will even provide credit if he can. But he has a problem ... a major problem. Tan has no concept of time. I’m not talking about the “sorry. I’m late ... the traffic!” excuse. Nor am I not talking about your grandfather who might sometimes mutter, “jeepers, is it that time already?”. No, this is unpredictable, inconceivable, unbelievable and totally unnecessary bad time mismanagement. 

A few months back I rang Tan around midday and asked to see him. I was told that he had to go to the city to refresh his supplies and his estimated return was going to be “an hour or so”. This is where the alarm bells should have gone off.

Tan’s not a big dealer and services a small but steady customer base. It’s more of an informal arrangement than a business and most of his ‘clients' have know him for years. But one thing we as clients have all learned is to never rely on him to be on time. 

Normally on a week day, a trip to the city takes 40-45 minutes with peak hour adding about 30 minutes to the trip. With the added time for conducting his business, there was no way he was getting back within “an hour or so”. But this is where a little known scientific fact kicks in. Waiting for drugs can alter the time-space continuum. That’s right; many years of statistical research and scientific analysis has shown that the calculated period for drugs to arrive is distorted by the degree of hanging out. It’s calculated like this: 15 minutes before Tan leaves plus 45 minutes to the city plus 30 minutes to make the transaction plus 45 minutes to return home plus 15 minutes for me to get to Tan’s house equals - “an hour or so”.

The junkie waiting equation (aka “an hour or so”):
15 + (45 x 2) + 30 = 60

As usual, the wait was excruciating. And in case you weren’t aware, every drug minute takes three normal non-drug minutes(another little known scientific fact). Anyway, it was finally “an hour or so” since I first rang Tan so I called to see if he was ready. 

Terry: “Can I come over now?”

Tan: “Soon ... we are just about to leave”

WTF!!! He hadn’t even left yet! Remember, I had rang him at midday and he was supposed to back by now. I can’t remember the exact words I used after I hung up but they weren’t family orientated. That I know for sure. My day was not off to a good start.

Eventually, it hit 2:00pm but I decided to give it an extra 10 minutes. It had been two whole hours since I had first rang so he was due back any moment and giving it an extra 10 minutes should accommodate any unforeseen delays. Somehow though, I knew in the back of my mind that it was not enough so I bravely waited another 5 minutes. Then another 5. Finally I gave in at 2:30pm. Two and half hours after the initial call should surely be enough time.

Terry: “Can I come over now?”

Tan: “Soon, we’re on the way”

Terry: “on the way back?”

Tan: “No, just on the way”

You must be starting to understand why I hate Tan so much. How hard is it to drive somewhere and come back again within an agreed timeframe?

Why is this happening today? I had skipped my scheduled meds for this and was now starting to suffer withdrawals. I was in pain and Tan’s simple task of driving to the city and back was the key to stopping it. 

By 3:30pm I was sure my time had come. After all, I had rang at midday and the estimated “hour or so” was now 3 and a half hours. Tan couldn’t possibly be that useless.

Just to add some background to the story. I had originally told Tan that my partner needed the car at 3:00pm. I asked him specifically if he was going to be back before then because I couldn’t come over after 3:00pm. Of course, Tan had assured me he would be “an hour or so”. Again at 2:30pm I told him about the urgency of the situation but he assured me he wouldn’t be long.

It’s now 3:30 and Mrs Wright is going apeshit on the phone for not having the car. I tossed up whether to ring Tan or just head on over to his house. Surely he was back by now - it was over 3 and a half hours since I first called.

From years of experience I had learnt a few rules that helped to keep me sane. First of all, always double the expected time. Ten minutes is at least 20 minutes and half an hour means an hour or more. Secondly, never ask Tan to hurry if I have a set timeframe. He just doesn’t have the ability to grasp deadlines.

3:30pm

Terry: “Can I come over now?”

Tan: “Soon”

Terry: “Where are you?”

Tan: “I have just arrived to pick up. I’ll be back home in an hour or so”

Arrrgghhhhh!!! #@$##%$%

I finally caught up with Tan at 5:30pm. Five and half hours after the first call. The longest “an hour or so” in history.

This was just one example of how useless my drug dealer is. The last time I scored I told him I had only 30 minutes to get to his house, have a fix and get home. Again, my partner needed the car for work. “Yup, come on over“ Tan said. I leapt into the car, stopped at a ATM for cash and got to Tan’s house within 15 minutes. I knocked on his door and waited impatiently. Five minutes goes extremely slow when you have 15 minutes to fix then get home before your partner murders you. What the hell is he doing? I knocked again, yelling out that I’m in a goddamn hurry. Finally, Tan appears and says that he will be back shortly ... he has to go and get it first. 

Then there’s the time that I wanted to use without Mrs Wright knowing. She had gone out for an hour so I rang and asked if Tan could come over straight away. “Yup, I’ll be over in 10 minutes”, he said. I emphasised that I had less than an hour and if he turned up after that, the deal was off. I asked him to tell me now if he couldn’t make it and I would see him later instead. He assured me he would be there in time.

30 minutes later and no Tan. Feeling slightly panicky, I rang to see how far away he was. He told me he was just about to leave. I waited for 15 more minutes and knew that this was my last hope before Mrs Wright appeared. So I rang Tan again and said Mrs Wright was due home in less than 15 minutes. He then explains, “I can’t come over. I don’t have a car at the moment”. Seriously … what do you say to that?

I have searched the pages of many medical journals on the internet looking for a time disorder that affects drug dealers. There doesn’t seem to be one. So what the hell does Tan have? What could make someone so oblivious to the concept of time? Apparently though, there are many drug dealers who suffer this infliction. Considering the carnage caused by this terrible disorder, I am seriously thinking about starting a charitable foundation for them. Does anyone want to recommend a name for the foundation because I have a few suggestions.


16 comments:

In Love with a French Guy said...

1=one

"He's never early ...he's always late
first thing ya learn is
ya gonna have to wait
I .... I'm waiting for my man"

I believe that's in the
Gospel According to Lou ( Reed )
Seriously ... that's what shits me about this phantom "recreational drug use" myth ( specifically in relation to diamorphine nee heroin)
BTW anyway to get the spellchecker
to not underline diamorphine when i type it ???
Only when the spellchecker acknowledges diamorphine ( on a site called ozzieHdiaries / bloody google probably diversifying into wackenhut shares lol/choke )will perception sway away from heroineous scandalius as behaviour seeking deserving of punishment...

In Love with a French Guy said...

My latest thoughts in relation to the misery the War on Bullshit causes me.. is why havent any/more psychologists used diamorphine as an anti-depressant... damn they could "cure" the twins of profitable diagnosis A)drug addiction
and
B)drug war induced mental illness in one less taxing swoop on the mortgage drones... ( maybe mortgage drones despise "junkies"
coz they prefer a different slavery to them)
Lets face it..giving an addict the product of a plant ,virtually free to preduce( the image of which would need be thoroughly cleaned-up /rebranded as giving the most damaged citizens the best available bandaids Hang on doesn't the UN say people deserve the best available medical treatment ,unless of course you are subhuman and an economy of literal,ethical,ambiguous leeches depend on your subhuman morality ( or lack of in their eyes)to pay their mortgage ( a slavery worthy of the corporate blessing )
On top of that maybe you have been wronged and feel "someone needs to do something" ,they eliminate you from the field of play (from politics,where these brutal calculating minds congregate)by lumping you with a criminal record which basically silences you ,or you lose the privilege of their ears understanding your language ...hmmm Lawyers where are you??? If this was murder it'd definitely be premeditated.
i know i'd prefer a bandaid to a raging infection ... and all for the price of growing poppies on a hillside..mind you there'd be industries of people queuing up to take their cut from those "junkies"
Whereas the cost could probably minimized to a Clinic,a nurse ,a bucket and a fridge full of adrenaline readymixed in case of an emergency, in case someone goes over ... a service defintely not accessible behind a dumpster ,hiding from the cops

In Love with a French Guy said...

Sorry about the tangent , but yeah
imagine how much more people could be productive if they werent forced to wait 3 - 5 hours per day ,waiting for their medication ...
I mean shit .. the govt could harness an army of goodwill /drug peace volunteers to begin implementing for one thing ,this Green Energy Grid we will be needing shortly ,that is if we plan to live on this planet and not die on it...
Imagine upto 50 000 ( ex-"junkies" transformed into medicated productive citizens )creating and not having to duck ,dive n weave 24/7 due to an artificially inflated priced medical need...
Greens/Labor if you are reading
"work for ya smack would be so much more successful than " work for the dole"
or for the conservative minds to digest worded " Ex street addicts Now making Aussie green energy needs cheaper... such a headline could only be met negatively by radicals ( the ones with the direct hotline to God)
The rest of the people surely have the brains to see the truth for themselves ( hate to inform ya pollies ..but the Internet is bullshit-proof for those keen on discovering the truth as Erroneous War on Drugs Propaganda is on its last legs aided by christian crutches ... so you may actually be losing votes by trying that tactic )
I probably will be dead to see this
but my drug induced nostradamus predicts "Massive Lawsuits from Surviving Drug War Prisoners of War Veterans... in the same way we expected the "Japs" ( hello outback Aussie) to pay for torturing the Kakodas off us...
I mean , if the govt are happy to sell us cigarettes which might cause cancer and alcohol which might cause domestic violence and more road fatalities ... surely its discriminatation at its worse to jail and persecute someone for taking something that might cause a peaceful death ( tho not likely in a controlled clinic on a stable dose)
Its time to stop wasting fuckin resources including money for useless policing ,which basically has degenerated into mercenaries protecting the corporate interest
and to stop sending messages to simpletons who seem to be thinking of the children in the most heinous of ways

Anonymous said...

Hence the popularity of a street market. Whilst there are many, many, many points to add to the 'cons' side of list, the positive side is there is no stuffing around. You get there, spot someone (hopefully someone you know to avoid buying panadol), do your transaction and get the hell out of there. It is over and done with in ten minutes tops.

I was recently buying half grams from a guy who ran late each and every time we organised to meet up. In the end I culled him and he lost my business. I would have continued to line his pocket with money if he didn't make me wait 2 hours beyond the agreed time. Sometimes I see him working on the street and I walk straight past him. There are plenty more people who are eager for your business.

I am fortunate enough to have a good dealer who I can ring up and have things sorted straight away. No f*cking around with time, size or quality. Maybe keep your eyes open for someone better Terry. 5 and a half hours is not only bad business, it is just plain rude. Even us addicts have lives and things to do!

Medium Fool said...

Terry,
Great blog mate. As a recovering addict myself I've enjoyed reading your insightful posts and this one sure as hell resonated with me. I've had some shocking dealers in the past and have definitely entered that space time continuum before where nothing seems to matter except ending up with that dope in your hand. The feats of endurance where capable of to make that happen eh? ;)
I remember one dealer I had would give the usual "Yeah I'll be there in 15 mins" and that *always* meant she'd be 45 to an hour. If she ever had to go pick up and would say that she'd be an hour I knew her well enough to realise that meant the whole afternoon was wiped out!
One good thing that came from it is that you would meet other junkies on the street who were also waiting for her and you'd spark up conversations to make the time pass and in turn get to know some decent humans. I got to meet Roland S Howard (ex Birthday Party guitarist) this way as he was seeing this same dealer too. One thing that he said that always resonated with me was "When you've been waiting for her this long you just want to fucking strangle her for treating you like this but as soon as you see her walking down the street towards you all those ill feelings completely disappear and you're ready to kiss her hands". So true.
Anyway, not that far off topic but did you hear about this:
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/cameras-could-keep-police-eye-on-drug-market-20110418-1dlq7.html
What are your thoughts on this?
Keep up the great work!

Johnny Mortgage said...

@ Medium Fool RE installing cameras to prevent drug dealing /use = ridiclous ..I for one couldnt give a flying Fark about a camera when i'm about to keel over vomit and shit myself at the same time... and if it costs 1million dollars to set up cameras on ONE STREET ..you do the math on how much it'd cost to put cameras in every street in Melbourne.. this camera to stop crime seems like "scarecrow" tactics
Problem is, humans ( especially resourceful addicts ) are a bit more streetwise than a crow is scarecrow wise...
Now apart from my personal opinion..
you may wanna check out some facts RE CCTV in the UK ..the most CCTV'd
country on Earth per capita... doesnt look like theyre winning the war on bullshit over there either... okay in the far fetched scenario you do have a camera on every street ( maybe in 50 years when we are all lobotomized corporate slave drones) how many monitors/screens manned by how many cops do you think it would take to implement that successfully
...Ridiculous...Fearmongering at best...
PS gotta love the Donate to the Salvo's thing that hijacks the page once you get to the URL...nice

Anonymous said...

Beware of fury of a patient man.

Terry Wright said...

Thanks MF.

"When you've been waiting for her this long you just want to fucking strangle her for treating you like this but as soon as you see her walking down the street towards you all those ill feelings completely disappear and you're ready to kiss her hands". Ah, the wisdom from one of Australia's great music icons!

This week, a few friends decided they wanted some ice so I too chipped in $100 (for a lousy point!). That was Tuesday night with the deal to be delivered on Friday morning some time. My contact rang me at midday saying it will be an hour or two. Then an SMS informed me it was now around 3pm. My friend had to take her daughter to her other parent at six pm so I knew I would get it before then. But no! The next SMS said between 7-8 pm ... then soon after it was moved up to nine-ish. I finally found out that my contact was going through a friend who knew the actual dealer and when he was told it would be after 11pm, he abruptly told his dealer to fuck himself with a very sharp object. So, in the end, my contact's roomy took over, rang his dealer and 45 minutes later I was smoking up. It all came down to one stinky dealer who just didn't give a toss about anything. His shitty attitude nearly cost his so called friend his job, my contact(and friend) nearly missed out on enjoying her only night off from raising her child and several people missed out on parties, nightclubs etc. Some drug dealers deserve the death penalty. Not because they sell nasty drugs but because they are selfish tossers who end up ruining so many people's plans.

In regards to CCTVs in Richmond, they just need to look at other places that have them. Like they are discovering in the UK, the more CCTVs they install, the more it costs to run and maintain them all whilst street smart dealers simply move into alleys or foyers where there are no cameras present.

Thanks again MF for reading my blog.

Anonymous said...

Your blog has the style and content of a child's writing ... maybe someone around 7 or 8 years of age. Could this be to do with the fact that you poison yourself with that crap? You're part of a problem, sunshine, and the rest of society wishes you'd clean up your act once and for all. So instead of writing trashy blog articles, why don't you focus on getting yourself clean. And stop writing such self-indulgent bullshit. (BTW, not all readers were stupid or selfish enough to start taking heroin. Knowing it is so addictive was enough for us to say 'no'.)

Crusader said...

Drug dealers operate on a different time paradigm. I call it Eastern Standard Dealer Time. It bears no relationship to the normal passage of time. My estimation is that Eastern Standard Dealer Time can be anything up to plus or minus eighteen hours.

Terry Wright said...

Eastern Standard Dealer Time ... love it!

Thanks Crusader.

Unknown said...

Can you hook me up with some good gear terry?

Major said...

This blog post resonates so thoroughly with my experiences with the waiting game. Someone somewhere else pointed out that these guys wouldn't be able to stay in business in any other venture but in this case they get away with it.

In my research I've learned about Dealer Time or Drug Dealer Time. In some cases they give you a reasonable ETA as to prevent you from taking your business elsewhere. Of course the one time we front the guy money because he was good about credit in the past is the time that everything went wrong.

Maybe it's because I'm not in too deep, and not an IV user but it is the waiting game which above almost all else makes me want to just stop and go back to an even more casual use where I have no expectations of copping to begin with.

Pamela said...

Ok then 🤨🤐

Pamela said...

Okay then 🤨🤐🙄

Pamela said...

Pls go away. You're obviously fried. And ruining a good article