STUDENT DRUG DEALER TELLS HIS STORY

Local Distributor Provides Window Into Trade Of Illegal Narcotics In
Charlottesville, Perspective On Risks Involved

(Editor's note:"Hunter" is a real University student, but his name has been
changed.)

Hunter is a normal college student in most ways. He has a part-time job,
attends class regularly and has aspirations of attending graduate school.
He even makes good grades.

But Hunter is different from most college students. He readily admits that
he is a drug dealer, involved in the sale of illegal narcotics.

Hunter said he deals because of financial need, because he has friends in
New York and Virginia Beach who readily serve as suppliers, and because, in
a pinch, he can make $300 in 10 minutes.

"It's basically easy money," Hunter said.

Hunter is not an anomaly on college campuses, nor is the presence of drug
dealers on University Grounds. Nine of the 17 people arrested to date in
the Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement Task Force round up which began in
early October were University students. Of the 33 people indicted prior to
the sting, termed "Operation Spring Break Down," 15 were current University
students and seven were former students.

In fact, major anti-drug efforts in Charlottesville and at the University
have grabbed headlines throughout the past 12 years. In November 2000, 13
suspects were arrested in what was then the JADE task force's largest drug
investigation. Three of those indicted then were current University
students and six were former students.

In March 1991, raids on three fraternity houses resulted in the arrest of
12 students. During the operation, labeled "Operation Equinox," officers
seized quantities of marijuana, ecstasy and LSD.

Drugs in University Housing fall under the jurisdiction of the Office of
the Dean of Students and Residence Life. Resident advisors are encouraged
to promote conversations about healthy living, which may relate to drug
use, Asst. Dean of Students Jason Shaffer said.

"It's a concern, but it's not something that occurs frequently," Shaffer said.

Shaffer has served as assistant dean since the fall of 2002 and said during
his tenure there have been no major problems with drugs.

Resident advisors are told to look for any significant changes in a
resident's behavior and to call police if they suspect drug use. Staff
members are instructed, though, not to immediately conclude that drug use
is the cause of variations in behavior, as changes can be caused by other
factors, such as an especially heavy course load or depression.

The October arrests have led to a heightened dialogue on Grounds, Shaffer said.

"We have capitalized on conversations those articles and arrests have
sparked among students," he said.

However, Hunter said that he steers away from the "difficult" University crowd.

"U.Va. students don't have as much money as people think," Hunter said.

He began dealing in January of this year and quickly built his bankroll
primarily by dealing to Charlottesville residents. Other dealers he knows,
however, do target University students, but the higher risk of arrest from
dealing with students deters him.

Instead, Hunter networked through friends and co-workers to gather clients
in the city.

"Townies aren't as uptight," he added.

In the past 12 months, Hunter said he has made between $15,000 and $20,000
dealing cocaine, ecstasy, marijuana and mushrooms.

By June, Hunter was "up to pounds" of marijuana as demand in
Charlottesville is relatively insatiable compared to other localities,
where drugs are more available.

With a few phone calls, Hunter said he could sell a $3,600 pound of
marijuana broken into four quarter-pounds, or QPs, for a total of $4,800.
Cocaine has a profit margin upward of 80 percent.

In the wake of the October arrests, Hunter said he downsized his business,
switched cellular phones and cut off some of his former client base.
Previously, Hunter had dealt to as many as 20 clients. Now he limits his
dealings to eight to 10 customers.

"Dealers aren't sketchy guys," Hunter said, adding,"don't get me wrong,
some of them are," but most abide by established unspoken rules.

"People say drugs are immoral -- and they are -- but there still are morals
within the system," Hunter said.

While he feels comfortable dealing with friends and those referred to him
by friends, Hunter is not oblivious to the potential dangers resulting from
his actions. He said he knew five of those arrested in Operation Spring
Break Down.

In 2002, 25,484 narcotic drug arrests, including drug equipment arrests,
were reported by other state agencies to the Virginia State Police,
according to the 2002 Crime in Virginia Report. Also in 2002, 351 narcotics
violations occurred in Charlottesville.

Acknowledging a violent side to the drug community, Hunter said his local
cocaine dealer recently was shot at.

It is this type of violent activity that Hunter passes off as out of the
ordinary in his dealings that rattles University officials.

"Situations vary, but most often the chief concern has to do with the
dealer networks, which commonly use violence to collect debts or alleged
debts, and which frequently turn out to have connections with criminal
activity including intimidation [and] theft," University President John T.
Casteen, III said.

Hunter said he has decided to take a less involved role in the
Charlottesville drug culture.

Over the summer, dealing became a lifestyle for Hunter as he was constantly
trying to unload his products and then "re-up." During this period, Hunter
said he earned between $5,000 and $6,000, and he began using drugs himself.

Now he said he is leaving this life of continuously taking calls and is
retreating into a position of supplying other smaller dealers. In feeding
other dealers, he is able to get rid of his product "ten times faster" and
deal with fewer people.

"If it's a lifestyle, people can see it very easily," Hunter said. "I would
not have that on my back."

After all, besides dealing, Hunter contends he is just a normal college
student.

Eventually, "I'd like to settle down and start a family," Hunter said. "I
have normal aspirations."