slimvictor
Bluelight Crew
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- Dec 29, 2008
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TEHRAN — At the Tehran party there was alcohol, of course, though it was a quiet affair, nothing like the wild, over-the-top events of urban legend. People just sat at a table, sipping drinks and talking as they would in many places across the world. After a while, someone made a phone call, and a few minutes later the doorbell rang and in walked a nondescript-looking man getting on in years.
He worked quickly, opening his briefcase to put his goods on display — an impressive variety of locally produced marijuana brands with varying degrees of potency, with names such as Royal Queen, DNA and Nirvana. All the while, his phone kept ringing, and though Iranian etiquette prescribes that he allow the partygoers to take their time in choosing, he kept discreetly checking his watch. He had a lot of other stops to make.
Iran is notorious for its harsh code of conduct enforced by an extensive intelligence apparatus, and it has waged a long and painful war on heroin and opium trafficking, with security forces dying by the thousands over the past two decades in fights with Afghan cartels.
But the same government that executes hundreds of drug dealers every year — and cracks down periodically on alcohol, which is also illegal — seems curiously oblivious to the growing popularity of marijuana.
The government opened 150 alcohol treatment centers in 2015, and the Health Ministry is deeply involved in combating hard drugs like heroin. But marijuana is mentioned only vaguely in the Islamic penal code, and the police pay it little heed. While the penalty for alcohol consumption is theoretically 99 lashes — most people get off with a fine — there are no prison sentences or lashings prescribed for people found carrying small amounts of pot.
As a result, marijuana use has skyrocketed. Gol, or flower, as marijuana is called here, can be found everywhere in and around the capital. The skunky smell of marijuana smoke wafts through restaurants in the ski resorts of Dizin and Shemshak. In the winter months, young skiers and snowboarders can be seen casually rolling joints while riding the chairlift up the mountain.
The aroma is routinely detected in Tehran’s public spaces. “When you stroll through one of Tehran’s parks, you can sometimes smell it, even on streets and squares,” said Taba Fajrak, 27, who works as a choreographer. “Once, I even smelled it in a cafe.”
In college dormitories, students use it to relax or concentrate, and during parties in private houses joints are passed around as comfortably as they might be in Boulder, Colo., or Amsterdam. Dealers are just a phone call away, and as common as the people who sell illicit DVDs or alcoholic drinks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/26/w...ecommendation&src=rechp&WT.nav=RecEngine&_r=0
He worked quickly, opening his briefcase to put his goods on display — an impressive variety of locally produced marijuana brands with varying degrees of potency, with names such as Royal Queen, DNA and Nirvana. All the while, his phone kept ringing, and though Iranian etiquette prescribes that he allow the partygoers to take their time in choosing, he kept discreetly checking his watch. He had a lot of other stops to make.
Iran is notorious for its harsh code of conduct enforced by an extensive intelligence apparatus, and it has waged a long and painful war on heroin and opium trafficking, with security forces dying by the thousands over the past two decades in fights with Afghan cartels.
But the same government that executes hundreds of drug dealers every year — and cracks down periodically on alcohol, which is also illegal — seems curiously oblivious to the growing popularity of marijuana.
The government opened 150 alcohol treatment centers in 2015, and the Health Ministry is deeply involved in combating hard drugs like heroin. But marijuana is mentioned only vaguely in the Islamic penal code, and the police pay it little heed. While the penalty for alcohol consumption is theoretically 99 lashes — most people get off with a fine — there are no prison sentences or lashings prescribed for people found carrying small amounts of pot.
As a result, marijuana use has skyrocketed. Gol, or flower, as marijuana is called here, can be found everywhere in and around the capital. The skunky smell of marijuana smoke wafts through restaurants in the ski resorts of Dizin and Shemshak. In the winter months, young skiers and snowboarders can be seen casually rolling joints while riding the chairlift up the mountain.
The aroma is routinely detected in Tehran’s public spaces. “When you stroll through one of Tehran’s parks, you can sometimes smell it, even on streets and squares,” said Taba Fajrak, 27, who works as a choreographer. “Once, I even smelled it in a cafe.”
In college dormitories, students use it to relax or concentrate, and during parties in private houses joints are passed around as comfortably as they might be in Boulder, Colo., or Amsterdam. Dealers are just a phone call away, and as common as the people who sell illicit DVDs or alcoholic drinks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/26/w...ecommendation&src=rechp&WT.nav=RecEngine&_r=0
