Evening star., 1922-09-17
Notes From Strange Life Narcotic Fend Relating Some Intimate
Occurrences With Workngmen Well as With Figures the UnderwordAn
Addict Always Sacrifices Bit Another Needy V But Seldom Will One
Tender to Uninitated
BY SPIDER" HORTON.

assumed that II you were, on the streets
and lettering you were an addict. The
peddlers really took few chances,
though. for they could tell at a glance
at the pedestrians face and a consid-
GRAFTON Of his general mannerisms
whether or not he was an addict. Why,
old stand downtown selling 50-cent
''decks" to all comers. And that was
only ten years ago.
Things are a bit changed now. 1t
isn't done quite so openly. There is a
very efficient narcotic squad in New
York and 1t has done a great deal to
break up the traffic. One big thing
| they have done: There are no more Of
| the old-fashioned dope parties" where
the guests assembled, for the express
purpose of getting "ail hoped up" A
hotel Is the only place ] know Of at
this time where these parties are run
regularly. or course. there are drug
| parties. but they nearly always are
given by regular dealers and are in the
nature of a celebration staged, for ex-
ample, when a dealer makes big sale
or procures a large supply OF narcotics
later to be sold.
Another thing one doesn't find any
more is the heroin pill 1t isn't SO long
ago we used to make our own pills.
don't know why we always used pills.
OF course, the drug was first put on
the market in that form. 1t was, how
ever, inconvenient. The user had to
crush the pill either to SNUFF . it or to
dissolve 1t for a hypodermic injection.
The stuff was; easier to carry. though.
for pills are not so hard to conceal as
the bulkier powders or decks"
The old time "sniffers' have gone
| almost out Of existence. Perhaps they
are all dead.
\ +
IN describing 1.-The game today we
| L will start off with the source of the
drugs. OF course, every one knows
most Of the narcotic shipped into
Canada is reshipped right back into the
states That's a nice little system.
isn't it? Most of the rest is smuggled
| into this country from Italy, Germany
and South America. Naturally there
is large share of 1t distributed clan
destinely from the drug factories right
here. I'm not accusing the manufac-
| turers or the druggists Of being "crook~
ed" I know it would be impossible for
them to watch all their employees at all
times. SO they aren't to blame. 1t is a
fact. though.
Now comes the matter Of distribu-
| ton of drugs to the addicts or 'fiends"
The men at the top receive the SNUG
gled drug and resell 1t to the dealers
These dealers sell to peddiers. and the
| peddlers are the ones who come in con-
| tact with the users Of drugs. They are
| the ones who take the biggest risks.
| And yet the risk isn't SO great. after all !;
for l can stand on the corner Of 65th
| street and Broadway and sell it as fast
as care to-
You find that hard to believe? Well,
you should have seen how the game
I was played ten years ago. You must
| remember that we know our customers,
and deck" Of dope isn't very large
and can be hidden in a cigarette. Why,
men sell quart bottles of whisky right
| on the streets. Compare the sizes of a
deck" Of dope" and bottle of
booze" It's no trick at all.
F.; Now, you will want to know the
classes of people who use dope habit
| ualiy. Well. personally, sell to the
| man know to be employed at a regular
! job and who receives a regular salary.
| That's for my own protection as we'll as
| the protection Of my customers. None
| of my customers is in what you'd call
| the professional class. But know from
| experience that various classes of So
ciety use narcotics.
| At one time I was on vaudeville
circuit-small time-with some card and
dice tricks, and know there are theat-
rical people who use drugs. There are
| racing men-men who own their own
strings of horses and men we'll known
along Broadway-who make a regular
habit of the needle. I'd give you the
names if it weren't for the come back
I'd get. 1t isn't safe to tell too much.
I've been through the mill, though, and
| they can't scare me. But I've a wife
and mother to support. 1 want to make
| it emphatic that there Is no such thing
as dope ring" That's fiction invent
ed by sensational writer's. And I'd like
| to say I've never read an article on
dope" taking or trading that WASH t
fiction. And I've read everything on
the subject 1 ever came across. They
deal in fiction so much that the glamour
of their imaginings detracts from the
value of anything I might say. The
public is so used to reading imaginary
stuff about US that the truth is tame.
| X x + +
| AS said. l sell to electricians,
n plumberes, printers. etc. and their
that end of it. But 1 never started
any one taking dope. I never refused
a man or woman deck If he or she
really needed it, whether he or she had
money or not. And I've often advised
men and women to cut down their daily
allowance If saw the dope" was tell
| ing on them too much. play the game
as straight as a crooked game like this
can be played and all my friends will
| tell you the same thing. I never knew
a dealer who deliberately started any
one taking dope" I've known some
dealers who would cheat the poor ad
diets as much as they dared by selling
adulterated stuff which was poison as
we'll as being a dope" but never have
heard of a dealer giving dope" to
any one who wasn't an addict.
NY customers say I sell them the
strongest stuff they've ever used. But
I'm away of from what wanted to
| tell you. You'd like to know how /
sell it to the users Well, try not to
| sell it to any one who wouldn't get it
| elsewhere. There are a lot of them
| won't sell to. Some men are natural