‘That’s where you get one of the purest and oldest strains in the world,’ he quenched Rocky’s bewilderment.
‘Now stop wasting time and run along. Go convince your dad about this. We will be gone for at least two weeks,’ Natas nudged Rocky to go home and start the preparations.
‘But...’
Rocky had a ton of questions surrounding the fresh travel plan.
‘I will clear all your doubts while travelling. Now, go,’ he interjected.
Two days went by. Rocky tried hard to convince his dad that he had no future in academics and that he wanted to open a clothing company with his friend, Natas. Very many bouts of arguments and fights ensued and Rocky’s dad finally had to give in. Rocky convinced his dad that he and Natas were off to a far off place to secure a dealer and manufacturer for their soon to be formed company. The train tickets were booked for the two lads. It was a long eleven-hour train journey to the legendary forests of the Colombian wilderness.
Rocky was lost in thought as he stared out of the train window. Natas decided to clear all of Rocky’s doubts.
‘The weed we smoke in the cities are all inbred and their qualities are very poor. What we are after are called landraces. They are naturally adapted to a certain condition without any human interference,’ he said as he broke the silence in the train compartment.
‘And we get them in Colombia?’ Rocky asked, turning towards Natas.
‘Yes, we get THE strain there. We get a pure strain called the Limon Verde.’
Rocky was still in confusion.
‘What is a strain?’ He asked.
Natas patiently cleared his doubt.
‘Think of it like a human race. There is the Central Asian race. Then there is the South Asian race. There are the whites and the blacks in the west. Each has a set of very unique characteristics that differentiates them from each other. Agreed?’
‘Yes, agreed.’
Rocky was deeply tuned into whatever Natas was telling. In the background, Rocky wondered how Natas knew so much about all these things. For a homeless boy, Natas’s knowledge stood out tall even when compared to the educated folks.
Natas continued his multiplexed explanation.
‘When these human races breed with a different human race, we get a mixed race offspring, obviously. The offspring will have no unique quality that can distinguish it between any two particular races. Instead, the offspring will show a mix of the characteristics and features. In the same way, the stuff we smoke in the city are mixed strains. They do not possess all the true characteristics of a landrace. And that is why, more often than not, the weed is of pure quality. We are after the landrace called the Limon Verde. It is a strain found in the foothills of the Sierra ranges. These strains are pure and have not been bred with different strains. They grow, most of the times, naturally in those hilly regions. The Colombians have the best strains in the world and the greatest one being Limon Verde. Got it?’
Natas finished his grand delineation.
‘Oh wow,’ Rocky sighed to himself in amazement. He never knew that the Marijuana business was so scientifically driven. There were different races and lineages of Marijuana, each with its own characteristic high and its own type of trip. Each with its own price tag.
Rocky could not resist but to ask.
‘How do you know all these things?’ He asked Natas.
‘Street knowledge, brother. Street knowledge often trumps the systematic educational structures practiced at school.’
That did not answer Rocky’s question. Rocky decided to bring up the topic sometime later.
The train snaked its way through the mountains and hills of South America. It cut through one of the most fertile and rich forests known to all mankind. All around was greenery. After a scenic eleven-hour journey, the train finally arrived at the place. The weather in these regions was hotter than Rocky’s home place down south.
They began trekking into the wood almost immediately, without wasting time. It was surely going to be a long trek. The Limon Verde strain is not the one that grows commonly all over the place. It is found on hill faces deep inside the jungle. There were many places where huge acres of lands were filled with wild Marijuana plants. The two stopped at each point and checked. The Limon Verde could be anywhere. After two days of unsuccessfully scouring the area for the legendary strain, the two stopped their conquest and decided to chart out a proper plan.
‘We need a proper strategy, Natas. This is pointless,’ said Rocky.
Rocky and Natas were pitching a two-bed tent for the night. All around them was thick tropical jungle. There was almost no human presence except for a few scattered shacks where farmers resided.
‘True.’ He replied.
Natas looked disappointed. He was feeling guilty of wasting two precious days without a proper plan in place.
They finished pitching the tent and sat down to draw out a plan. Natas brought out two joints from his backpack. He lit them and passed one to Rocky. A good one minute of silence followed while the two stoners enjoyed the strong initial puffs.
‘How about asking a farmer for some tips. He might know a thing or two,’ Rocky spoke after finishing half of his joint quickly. Natas was busy admiring the burning joint in his hand.
‘That is a good idea. How much money do we have with us now?’ Natas asked.
‘Around thirteen thousand pesos,’ replied Rocky.
‘Perfect.’ Natas smiled.
The decision was well worth it. The next morning, they contacted a nearby corn farmer. The farmer did not think twice after seeing the money. He agreed to show them around the deadly mazes of the jungle and take them to probable places where the Limon grew unperturbed.
They pitched tents in the night amongst the tall and the silent trees. It was a hard mission but the reward was certainly very promising. After a week of trekking and scouring, the two came across a huge hill studded with wild Marijuana outgrowth. The entire hill was covered by the plants. The leaves were longer than the usual Marijuana plant leaves found in the cities. The plant was taller and the smell around the areas was contrastingly different. The farmer nodded in confirmation. They had finally found the mother lode.
Rocky and Natas spent the next two hours by carefully collecting the seeds from the flowering buds. They planned to plant the seeds back in Colinao. The idea was to take over the Marijuana trade in the city with their superior quality drug. They collected some sample to smoke-up later. After all, it was Limon Verde, which had all sorts of cult followings and stories going on around it. They now possessed their trump card to surprise the street markets back in the city. Rocky and Natas were satisfied. They made their way back to Colinao with a hint of relaxation after finding the legendary stuff.
The Limon was with them.
Taste of Money
“Thus, the business blossomed. The money started flowing in. More and more workers came to know of it and bought scores and scores of joints to share with their friends.”
‘We need a base for operations before we start doing anything, Rocky,’ said Natas.
Natas and Rocky were sitting at the foot of an isolated hill. The two had just returned from a successful cross-continental mission to find the best Marijuana strand across the land. Rocky knew this hill better than the back of his palm. He used to climb this hill with his friends from the pre-drug part of his life.
‘How about this hill?’ Rocky said, as he pointed towards the hilltop.
‘I have been coming here from a very long time, I know this place very well. I have never seen much human activity here,’ he added, trying to prove his point.
Natas listened intently with an eye for deep scrutiny.
‘What about the police? Have you seen much of that lot here?’
Natas asked the all important question that bothered all aspiring criminals alike.
‘Not even once.’ Came the pleasing reply from the suddenly enthusiastic Rocky.
‘This is the best bet, Natas. It has similar
wind and temperature conditions as the place where we got these precious seeds,’ he said as he held out the ziplock bag containing the hallowed seeds.
Natas eased up after seeing Rocky’s confidence. Natas was pleased to see Rocky actively involving his mind resources into the creation of the business.
‘If you are so sure about it, then fine,’ Natas said as he tapped Rocky’s shoulder with confidence.
‘Okay let us hike up to the top and let me show you the place,’ said Rocky as he got up to start the hike.
After a thirty-minute hike, they reached the top. It seemed as though the place was ideal for such activities. View of acres and acres of rolling hills and no hint of the busy and buzzing city life made it a perfect place for taking the ‘trip’. The two had got with them some sample stuff along with the seeds. They cleaned the sample and rolled it into two joints. Rocky lit the two joints and they smoked in silence, curious to see how different the pure strain was from the local mixed breeds. Twenty silent minutes went by. Rocky and Natas were lost in the magic of this new sample. They were at a loss for words. They literally had nothing to say. It was astounding. They had never tasted something so intense and pure. This would definitely be a hit among the city junkies. Rocky felt a bit let down for having smoked the low quality stuff from the city all these days instead of this strain. He thanked the One Above for this gift to all of humanity. A strain crafted by god in the most sacred chambers of heaven.
‘What kind of heavenly forces crafted this shit, I do not know. But this is what I will smoke for the rest of my life!’ Rocky thumped his chest in excitement.
Natas laughed and acknowledged the same. This really was something different. Something that people would very easily get hooked onto. Something that would show the people, the path to other, far more sinister drugs. This was the wolf in the sheep’s skin that would lead the people to buy the immensely profitable daddy drugs. The two stoned lads atop the hill were ecstatic. They now had the proper stuff to launch a business. They could barely contain the raging excitement in them.
‘We have two things ahead of us now. One, I shall take charge of. The other one you need to do it,’ Natas spoke, as he reeled the excitement back to ground.
‘As you say, My Lord. What is this work you have for me?’ Rocky spoke theatrically. The highly intense THC running around his body was aiding him well to look like a dramatist. He could well have become an actor. Too bad he had to take the ‘high’ road.
‘You will start growing the herb in small batches for now,’ said Natas.
The atmosphere became serious.
Rocky’s eyes narrowed and became serious at the fact that he had to the dirty job.
‘And what will you do?’
‘You will see,’ he replied.
‘Why do you always speak in a mysterious and suspicious way?’ Rocky was perturbed.
‘Come, I will show you the planting process,’ replied Natas coolly.
‘Arghh! Fine!’ Rocky shot his hands up in the sky.
He was slowly being controlled by Natas.
They walked up to a patch of relatively flat land on the top of the hill. It was perfect for the plantation of this strain. A mild tree cover ensured that direct sunlight would never hit the sensitive plants and their precious buds. They got about clearing the flat patch of land. They cut out all the wild plants that had grown on it and cleared it of all the gravels and stones. The small patch of land was now clean and clear enough begin the sowing of seeds. The seeds were planted in neat rows and they were regularly watered.
In the days to come, Rocky and Natas purchased a variety of gardening equipments. They purchased watering cans, lamps and a small car battery amongst a variety of other items. Back at the hilltop, they had constructed a small makeshift enclosure of sorts around the patch of clear land. The set up ensured that the saplings would never be in contact with the full force of the strong gusts of winds on the hilltop. Adding to that, the enclosure ensured that the air was continuously being circulated throughout and around all the saplings and no stale air lingered around any given sapling. They set up the incandescent lamps above saplings. The lamps were switched on when the sun set, to substitute as sunlight. This ensured that the saplings had a day of twenty-two hours and two-hours of complete darkness.
Four months went by without any notable events. Rocky spent his days toiling away, growing and caring for the precious herbs. He would spend all his time on the hill as the little saplings demanded nocturnal attention as well. Rocky was never a hard worker, but the thought of minting some money of his own made him a ferocious hustler. He raised the plants like how a parent would raise a child. While Rocky sweated it out on the lonely hilltop, Natas would often be absent from the scene.
“You will see”, was the only reply Natas gave when Rocky chanced upon him to question about his absence.
Unknown to Rocky, Natas had quietly spent most of the cash and arranged for acquiring an enormous array of chemicals. Chemicals that were needed to cook Crystal Meth. To name of a few, Red phosphorous, Hydriodic acid, Sodium hydroxide solution (also called lye solution), Muriatic acid (dilute hydrochloric acid) and Ethyl Ether. Natas had also arranged to buy a huge consignment of tablets used for cold and decongestion. These tablets, which anyone can buy from a local store, had two notorious ingredients in them. They were Ephedrine and Pseudoephedrine. Had any anti-doping agency chanced upon a chemical consignment of the likes of this, they would have arrested Natas and Rocky before the two even began to use the chemicals.
†††††††
The amount of money meth can make is beyond one’s imagination. Owing to the extreme addictive nature of meth, it generates an enormous percentage of returning customers. In the sense, once a customer starts buying meth, he will stop buying only when his material body dies. That is the meth business. You have a huge score of repetitive lifelong users. The person never stops buying and using it until a painful death gets him. It is one of the most addictive drugs out there on the unpredictable drug markets.
‡‡‡‡‡‡‡
Natas had also spent the remainder of his time in convincing few of the lower working class people to come along with him to the hill. With his charming and raging personality, it was hard for the people to say no. He had managed to convince eight people to come with him to the hill. Eight people who were at least thirty years older than Natas. After having spent a lifelong in working hard for realizing other’s dreams for a truly sorry salary, these folks were desperate for any break or distraction that would make them forget their worldly problems. Their strained family relationships, their dwindling money in the bank accounts and their deteriorating health amidst the dead city-life was too much for them to handle. They wanted an out.
‘Natas! Who the hell are these people? And what are they doing here?’ Rocky pulled Natas to the side and asked. Eight people had gathered on a small cliff on top of the hill.
‘Money,’ said Natas, with a ominous smile on his face.
‘They will generate our main income for now. Stop being so insecure and trust me Rocky. I know what I am doing,’ he added, as he kept his hand on Rocky’s shoulder.
‘Just trust me.’
Natas’s plan was simple. Get them addicted to weed and then, amidst the trance, introduce them to the daddy drugs. Once hooked onto Crystal Meth, there is no stopping. The first batch of Cannabis that Rocky had grown was ready. The flowering heads had been cut off from the main plant and dried for a while under natural sunlight. The eight sat down on the cliff along with Natas.
‘Rocky, get me the dried stuff.’
Natas pointed at the spread of dried heap laid next to the patch where it was cultivated. Rocky promptly ran to the spread and fetched the dry bundle.
‘Now, show them how it’s done,’ Natas instructed Rocky with an ever so lightly authoritative tone.
As though like a puppet, Rocky showed the eight, the procedure of cleaning and rolling Marijuana joint.
&nbs
p; Rocky began by cleaning. He then carefully separated the buds and leaves from the stems and seeds. It was quite a time consuming process. Rocky went into a bubble as he skillfully cleaned the dry heap. The sort of bubble great artists get into while they work on their masterpieces.
In the mean time, Natas spoke.
‘I know how hard your life is. I can relate to it since my own dad works and sweats it out in a small factory for small wages. He comes home dejected and tired most of the days...’
Natas tried to hit an emotional chord with the unsuspecting folks.
While Natas spoke, Rocky had finished cleaning the dry bundle. He now had only the THC-rich contents on a big piece of paper. For any naive person, the stuff on the paper looked like junk ready to be discarded. However, for Rocky and Natas, this was a path to dreamland. Rocky had with him, a few grams of tobacco which he had extracted from a cigarette. He mixed the tobacco into the heap of weed. This would ensure a uniform and a long lasting burn. He then proceeded to arrange eight rectangular pieces of wheat straw paper. The kind that would burn slow. They were each about the length of a king-size cigarette. Rocky, then took around half a gram of the weed--tobacco mixture from the heap and carefully dropped them in a line along the centre of each paper. Rocky then tore small rectangular pieces of index cards. He made three folds to form a pleat. The remaining, unfolded part was then rolled over the folded part. The index card piece now looked like a cylinder inside which a w-shape fold was made. A ‘W’ inside a circle. This was to serve as the filter tip.
†††††††
The filter tip serves many purposes. It prevents the joint from clogging up, filters the tar, holds the joint sturdy and prevents the joint from dissolving once it is burnt through.
‡‡‡‡‡‡‡
While Rocky placed the filter tips on the edge of the wheat straw paper, he wondered whose dad Natas was talking about.
Herba: Once in, there's no way out. Page 4