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[EXCLUSIVE] Inside a Drug Dealer's Life | SAN Network
Written by Scarletti, Yassin
INSIGHT: LIFE OF A DRUG DEALER
EXCLUSIVE BUMPER ISSUE
SPECIAL BUMPER ISSUE
Included with 'Her life: Insight of life of a drug dealer's girlfriend'.
By Sarah McOnelly · Published on September 30, 2017 · SAN Network
Drugs are among the most influential and significant part of the criminal and illegal business of San Andreas. Flowing in from far off places such as Los Angeles or growing illegally in plantation, they are also fatal for the health as drugs are mostly misused for fatal overdoses. Nevertheless, SAN Network brings forward once in a long time opportunity to know about the personal life of a drug dealer, as we had the rare chance to interact with one. The real world of drug dealing is less flashy than TV - and much more complicated.
Meet Shorts, as we call him, censoring his full name who has been selling controlled substances, ranging from moonshine to cocaine in Palamino Creek for the past two years anonymously. Quality cocaine has a sheen to it, like the paint on a lowrider. Shorts flicks a clump with his nail to show me.
According to Shorts, he works a full-time job and only deals as much as he can reasonably use or hide. He lives in the the same small house he's lived in for 12 years, in a down-and-out part of Palamino Creek that recently began to "yuppify," as he puts it.
Shorts, leaning aside his drug inventory.
"There are times when I still find it hard to believe, but for more than a decade, I made my living as a drug dealer. Meth, cocaine, ecstasy, pot, GHB, Special K. You name it, I had it, I sold it.", recalls Shorts. Business in drugs has proved to be one of the best ways of earning money illegally for people like Shorts. They get a steady amount every week, every day or sometimes every hour for the deals they make, some in broad daylight while some in night. We had the opportunity to see a real drug deal being done by Shorts, showing how he sometimes tricked his own clients.
As it appears in the photo, Shorts is dealing with the buyer who is interested in what they call, 'cola'. "Most people nowadays do their deals over internet. F**** them, I never trust this Internet. I do real deals.", says Shorts. It is no doubt that with the revolution of Internet, many negative sides evolved. Deep web or dark web is the best source of illegal items for people in San Andreas. Many deals are done over the Internet which never involves physical contact between the buyers and the sellers. But Shorts is among the few who still hates Internet and deals in his own "classic" way of drug dealing, arranging clients and offering them the bonus.
Shorts arranging a deal with his client and offering him his 'package'.
"You never know about the presence of cops. You gotta keep vigil and stay like you out here did nothing.". The Law Enforcement agencies such as Sheriff's Department keep a close eye on those drug deals and people like Shorts have to deal with them daily. Surprisingly, his house has been searched four times but he hasn't been arrested yet, even after making hundreds of grands from dealing. He's an expert, he says and always keeps his eye out on the laws around. "To be a good dealer, you just don't need to deal. You gotta know about the law, lawyers. Prepare for anything.". The younger ones or new people usually fall trap to the police and even after they have committed no crimes, they sometimes end up getting arrested.
Shorts doing his signature move with his client.
Dealing with drugs had been the most dangerous part of Shorts life. Yes, you won’t believe it but the person we were talking about - Shorts, is now no longer a drug dealer. In fact, he is now a proudly serving member of the society by being a bodyguard, actively employed by a security firm.
"But selling drugs was the best preparation I could have asked for, entering the real world. Now equipped to handle situations that it takes others years to prepare for. More than anything, selling drugs taught me to believe in myself and what I’m capable of. It taught me to trust my instincts and how to make difficult decisions."
Shorts proudly doing his work as a bodyguard.
A lot of people face economical issues and involve themselves in drug dealing. But many change and throwing these people to jail won't change anything, not the person and not the society. People change but if violence is used, they change for the worse. Shorts developed himself from a major drug dealer, earning hundreds of grands of money to a simple bodyguard who just earns a few grands every weeks. But he is still proud in what he does and life has changed for him. Or at least, he has changed his own life.
HER LIFE - INSIDE THE LIFE OF A DRUG DEALER'S GIRLFRIEND
My sit down conversation with a young girl whose careful words and chilling memories paint the picture of what it’s really like to date a drug dealer in Blueberry
How would you describe (him) as your boyfriend?
(Smiles) He was everything you could ever want in a boyfriend. He was smart, he was funny, he’s sweet, caring, open, honest, loyal—you name it. You know what he was the most? He was very attentive. Like, I would tell him a small detail, something so dumb that even I would forget I said it, you know? And then the next week or month he would surprise me with something going off of the littlest things I mentioned. He was a really good boyfriend and a drug dealer.
Did you ever feel your life could have been in danger while with him?
(Pauses) Yes? Yeah. It’s not an easy thing to admit but yeah, there were many times where I probably could have been killed—easily actually.
Like I’m sitting here and talking to you right now and there were times where I could have been shot. Like, what? What is that? It’s so weird to think back now, but it’s just the life I lived with him
How long into your relationship did he begin dealing drugs?
Oh, really early on. Before, actually. Before he was with me. He always dealt like petty drugs all throughout high school. But it would be like selling weed. And it was selling to other like—you know what it was?—it was just like dumb brown kids selling to other dumb brown kids. And that was fine.
Until one day, it wasn’t just to other dumb brown kids, and it definitely wasn’t just weed.
Did you guys get along right away?
It was that cliché thing where he asked for my number and I said no. He asked again and I said no. He asked me again and again and I said no, no, no.
It wasn’t until near the end night that I saw him again. He saw me like glued to my phone and I remember he just came up to me, grabbed my phone, and took it away from me. And then he took his own phone out of his pocket and gave both of our phones to his friend and he asked me to go on a walk with him. Sometimes, I wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t gone on that walk. Within 5 minutes, he won me over. I mean I didn’t make it obvious to him at all that he won me over (laughs), he had no idea, but I swear he won me over.
What were the things that led to the breakup?
I just like smartened up, I guess? I don’t know. Like, I remember this one time, when we first started dating and we were all at a party and this “big time drug guy” was there and kind of bothering one of my friends. And I remember her boyfriend was like to the guy “hey, bro like that’s not cool” and the other guy just didn’t care and was like “well, what are you gonna do?” and my friend’s boyfriend didn’t do anything!
And it sounds so dumb to think back now but like I remember my boyfriend came up to me and was like “babe, if that were you, I would have booted him in the face. No one talks to my girl or me like that.” And I just remember being so happy that I was dating him. And honestly—at the time—I thought my friend’s boyfriend was such a loser for doing that. And just I so distinctly remember just feeling so happy and proud to be with him—and I felt so bad for her.
And then like two years later, so like in the last few months of me dating my boyfriend, something stupid happened and my boyfriend ended up in the hospital. And I remember I was on my way home from seeing him and I got a call from that same friend and we hadn’t talked in a while but she invited me to the surprise party she was throwing for her boyfriend for graduating university and getting some internship or something.
And then—and I’ll never forget—she asked me like “oh, what has your boyfriend been up to?”
And that that very second I knew she was like “oh, what a loser.” And I just knew she felt so happy and proud to be with her boyfriend and now like she felt bad for me. And I hated that. That was a big turning point for me.
How was it like after you broke up with him?
I mean I was a mess. I loved him and we broke up. We were together for two years and he was my everything and we talked every day for two years and then all of a sudden, one day, we didn’t. And it was really, really hard. And I almost got back together with him a few times.
But I remember, like a month or so after we broke up, my first cousin had a baby. And I just remember seeing her and her husband in the hospital and so happy starting their family—and I wanted that. And I just realized how I would never want my boyfriend to be the father of my children. I wouldn’t, I couldn’t. I couldn’t let that happen with the things he was doing.
And I just kept telling myself “one day you might lose the father of your children, so you can cry over him. But you can’t waste your time crying over this guy.” And that helped a lot.
So you don’t ever see yourself going back to him?
(Pauses) I really want to say yes. I really do, but I don’t know. Like, if I were to get a call right here, right now that was he was like in the hospital, I’d leave this interview right now and go see him. I would. No questions asked.
I will always care for him and want to protect him and I know he would do the same. But I hope I’m smarter than that—to get back together with him. That kind of stuff scares me though, you know? He’s the love of my life. He is and I know I’m not stupid enough to get back together with him but will I ever stop loving him? I mean, I don’t know.
I’m so afraid one day I’ll meet that “father-of-my-kids” kind of a guy and be happy and fine, but then one day, I’ll see him and I’ll just look at him and it’ll all come back. He is the love of my life, I know it. And I just wish I never met him and never got caught in all of this. I wish (laughs) I wish I never went on that walk. But I did. And now he’s walking his own way and I have to walk mine.
What would you say it’s like dating a drug dealer?
It’s just—it’s chaos. It’s chaos, it’s panic, it’s a constant party and train wreck all in the same night. Not to say it was like that all the time. It wasn’t, I guess. But just thinking back to my past year, there’s stuff that’s happened that I swear could be in a movie.
What advice do you have to anyone dating a drug dealer?
Don’t? (laughs) Just don’t do it. It’s not a life you want for yourself, it’s not a happy life to live. You want cute little memories with your boyfriend and do couple-y things together and have a happy life.
You don’t want police showing up at your house at 2am, you don’t want to watch guys get bottled in the head, you don’t want to be afraid your boyfriend might get shot. What kind of a life is that? Where is the happy ending?
There will never be a happy ending.[/blegend]
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