THE REEFER MAN

Pot Dealer Keeps Things Low Key for Obvious Reasons

Name: "Paco"

Age: 45

Occupation: Pot dealer

Bio: This chill Caribbean heartbreaker first started selling reefer in the
Plateau back in the early '80s but gave it all up mid-decade after meeting a
nice girl and deciding to make babies together. Accustomed to living the
high life as a dealer, for the next several years Paco took on a series of
low-paying, menial gigs in the effort to stay on the straight and narrow and
provide a "decent" home for his offspring. "Back then it was crazy, mon, I
was making lots of money but there were constantly people coming over buying
small amounts like dimebags, and I had no time for myself anymore. I was
constantly on call, on the job, I was sick of it." When the couple
ultimately separated, Paco, who figures he smokes roughly an eighth of an
ounce of weed a day, got back into the biz on a smaller scale "to keep
myself in smoke." He claims to be one of the few downtown dealers left who
still operates out of his home. "These days it's mostly pager guys doing
deliveries."

Something that's killing the pot business: Home growing. "So many
people have started growing their own the past few years, there really
aren't as many customers as their once was. Worse, sometimes people
are growing more than they can use, and get this, they're giving away
the shit, mon! I wish they'd give it to me. It's hard finding good
customers now."

Is this a business he would like to someday pass down to his children?
"No way! It's not that it's a shitty business, but it's not something
you want to see your kids doing. You know, it's illegal."

As a dealer, does the idea of legalizing marijuana rub him the wrong
way? "No way, mon, legalization would be great. I'm a smoker first,
mon."

A few invaluable tips for those looking to get into the business:
"Grow your own. Cut out the middleman and you can make a shitload of
money. And check out who your customers are-the narcs they send these
days can be pretty convincing sometimes. Young people, wearing
university jackets, it's gotten harder to recognize them. Really, they
look just like students now."

How many times his place has been busted into by people looking to
steal his stash: Three times in over two decades.

Who he perceives as a bigger threat, the cops or machine-gun-wielding
thugs stopping by to rip him off? "Actually, I don't worry about
either too much anymore-although I take precautions."

One downside to dealing reefer: "The stigma. You meet a straight girl
or something, and you tell her what you do, and you know, they don't
always like that. "

Musical preferences: Sean Paul, dancehall reggae.

Childhood ambition: To become a pilot.

Last book read: Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad.

Words of wisdom: "No condition is permanent-unless you're doing 25 to
life in jail."