OPEN-AIR DRUG MARKETS IN SW ARE EASY ALTERNATIVE FOR SUBURBANITES

A car full of Fairfax County teenagers pulls up to a curb in Washington.
They roll down the car's window and place their order.

Cash goes out, a bag of marijuana is tossed in, and the car speeds off —
another deal is done.

When Fairfax teenagers stray from their county to buy dope, the openair
drug markets that run near Maine and Delaware avenues in Southwest
Washington are one place they head.

"You just roll right up there, and people come right up to your car," a
17yearold from Springfield said. "It's just like a drivethrough at
McDonald's."

Nearly all of the 100 Fairfax teenagers interviewed over the last six
months for these articles were aware of the area they call "203," a label
that not one could explain.

More often than not, the teenagers said, they make their buys through
connections in Fairfax. But when drugs are not just a phone call or page
away, 203 is a fast, reliable, though menacing, alternative.

The dealers there "look for people with Virginia tags" to hawk their wares
to, said an 18yearold from Herndon. "When they see that, they start
yelling at you. Sometimes, they rip you off. I've had one [gun] pulled on
me down there. I use that [203] as my last resort."

D.C. police Sgt. Donald Yates put it more bluntly. Suburbanites "are not
familiar with these areas," Yates said. "They are just a pigeon ready to be
plucked."

None of the teenagers was sure how 203 got its nickname, but there were
plenty of theories. Some thought it was an address on a building in the
area; others thought it referred to a particular spot between Second and
Third streets SW.

"I think it's the area code," was the guess — wrong — of a 17-year-old
Reston teenager, who had bought marijuana there. The Zip code in the
general area starts with 203 — but no teenager interviewed knew whether
that might account for it.

There was no confusion, though, about the routine on the streets that are
close to the fish markets of Southwest Washington and within easy access of
Interstate 395.

There, drugs — usually marijuana — are prepackaged in paper or tiny plastic
bags that can fit in the palm of a hand and are sold in $5, $10 or $20
increments. The area has "tons of people with paper bags," a 16-year-old
girl from Burke said.

While 203 is the most popular drug market, county teenagers said they also
go to other sites outside Virginia, including Hains Point, Dupont Circle,
techno dance parties at Washington night clubs and rave parties in
Baltimore warehouses.

D.C. narcotics officers declined to discuss specific urban drug markets but
did acknowledge that suburbanites, including teenagers, frequent them and
at considerable risk.

Lt. Eugene Bentley said, "Marijuana markets have become more violent."

Those "marijuana markets are very profitable," he said. "Where there is
money here, there is violence."

But while acknowledging the risks, another 16yearold girl from Burke,
said Washington can't be bested for convenience. "You just drive down,
someone asks you what you want, and they give it to you. D.C. is like a
late-night alternative."