Ructions Sorry about your bit of bad luck. Its funny, I remember reading a scientific article that mentioned that junkies not on gear are suseptible to placebo effects to a greater extent than the regular population implying that its enorphenergically mediated because narcan attenuated it and a dose of a full opiate agonist. So I think thats could be a factor. But when I was smoking I could uduslly taste the deference right away- or could tell by how it ran- the best dope left a light black or light grey trail and didn't leave any cruntchy stuff. #3 afghan sounds different. The beattle would be black and liquify easily, not remain a chunk that could potenially flick off the foil. The best dope had a bitter medicine pleasant dope taste- sometimes great dope had a vinegar taste but the dead didn't have this.
Anyway, my wife and daughter are doing fine. They are visiting her family in Arizona. They were lucky it was monsoon season. The desert gets most of its rain during the summer and its hot and humid but the lightning and the beautiful colors on the fluffy clouds is surreal.
How is your boyfriend and son doing.
I grew up in San Jose and moved to San Francisco and then San Jose for several back there in the late 90s to get clean.
Anyway been living back in San Diego since 2004. The dope was much better here when I was using than the bay area- they have too many dope fiends. San Francisco has the biggest heroin scene per capita on the west coast followed by Seattle (and Vancouver might surpass San Francisco as might TJ- were taking per capita but there is alot of crystal meth (globitos) and cokeheads/ crack in TJ.
Anyway, San Jose is probably the equivalent of one of the boring suburbs south of London- its looked down on- and it is boring. There are connections and I went to the meth clinic but except for a few east side connects, people in the silicon valley would go to East Palo Alto, San Fransico, or the small eclectic beach town of Santa Cruz which had an open air scene in a part of town called "the flats" which was the local mexican ghetto. San Jose, whoever, had lots of coke and crystal meth especially. What it particularly was know for, ironically, was PCP (KJ, Blast, or lenios). A drug like a dirty longer lasting version of ketamine. People can stay in P-holes for hours. One bit of trivia is that its former police chief, an Irish- American, you should be proud of had the balls to say the drug war was a failure and all drugs should be legalized- he kept his job for 15 years despite his unspokenness on the topic and during that time San Jose ( pop 850,000) was the safest major city in the USA- because he had his priorities straight- he enforced the drug laws because he had to but throwing users in jail was at the bottom of his list.
Anyway i live in the North Part of San Diego county now- used to be by the beach in the diverse beach town of OB, kinda the hippie beach town in San Diego to this beach town. A major Marine Corp base is located here, in our backyard so see alot of marines about town and by the beach- so it was almost culture shock when I first got here. More tweak and less gear up here than Closer to the city of San Diego. Going from Northern California to Southern California (9 hour drive from San Diego to San Francisco.) so culturally it is like 2 states. Southern California is like bay watch in many ways in general- what people stereotypically think of CA. The north is more laid back in many was- it has more counter culture people and politics up there. Its generally a hipper place in my opinion.
good luck if you decide to get clean! You are a good person so you have the gooness and selfless spirit needed to get and stay clean- and more importantly- don't go out of your mind jonesing for dope- being hsppy snd serene is
the trick.
About cell phones- I saw a PBS docu today called spy factory about the NSA- they had OBLs position and that of the hijackers address in San Diego but didn't share that info with the FBI. After 9/11, the directive preventing them from listening in to cell phones, emails without warrant was lifted. They have a site were tens of thousands of personel monitor cell phone conversations overseas and found a way to tap internet trafick so they probaly can tap us without and IP adress acording to this meeting. They have satalites, listening stations, data collecting points around the world that get sent to San Francisco under the AT&T switching office- were they apparently also hotwired the cables. So big brother is for real this time. Scarry. They weren't allowed to listen in to cell phone conversations made from inside US soil and internet stuff prior to 9/11 but a secret executive order right after 9/11 changed this as dis the much maliged patriot act. I don't mind going after terrorist but private conversations- its intrusive and it detracts their focus on keeping us safe from terror. When former employee said it made here uncomfortable listening to other peoples' conversations and quit cause she couldn't do it any more.
Is the standard of living better in Ulster or the Republic, or does it depend whether your protestant or catholic (in general?) wondering if anyone new.
Anyway, I was gonna start a thread on the old needle park scene Zurich 1986-1992. Started it in DC but a younger mod decided to change the name of my post- to a boring one but an important one like evolution of the harm reduction model in switzerland. But it has loads of info about needle park and the current system and it compares it to the ones in the UK (whats left of diamorph maintenance and what it was like, and the American philosophy in one of the posts.) She objected to it because the only needle park she new of was in NY/or NJ- here rationale is still there. If you have info please add- I wan't to keep it alive so it doesn't go to archives if it hasn't already- even to say it has a great system in place or info if you can temporaily start heroin maintenance therapy if your a tourist kicking. I know tryptamine was there so there is some small street scene in spite of this progam in Zurich:
http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/showthread.php?t=442310
Anyway, here's a post that has some historical info on the Dublin scene that may interest you Irish out there. He PMed me with this back in January. This was Burroughs whom I haven't heard from in a while otherwise I'd ask his permission to post this- don't think he would care. He didn't have info on the 89s Zurich scene but had this:
Originally Posted by jspun
howsit, I like your posts,
Did you ever go to Zurich during the "needle park" days or know anyone that did. If so, what was the scene like, I figure you would be the person to ask b/c your old school?
Hope your well
spun
Yo Spun, I was just about to reply to your post!
I left Ireland and gear in 1982 - it was like the Big Bang - it went from a few dozen Burroughs-type junkies going to croakers to thousands of junkies everywhere. It was getting a bit hairy so I fucked off. I drank for quite a few years, trying to bludgeon the depression into submission. I used gear the odd time but I didn't, and still don't, like more than one habit at a time. I started using regularly again about ten years ago and after a year or two I realised I hadn't been depressed for ages.
So I don't have a problem with my gear habit. I got a "regular job, regular room" as Bobby Hughes says in DS Cowboy.
None about here at the moment though, as you will have gathered. I'm not scripted - I've started to use Poppy Tea instead of buying meth. It's dearer and more hassle but if I up the maintenance dose I can still get stoned. Trying to make it last until payday next Tuesday.
I read Drug War Chronicle and I think you drug users over that side are a lot more organised and vocal - places like Vancouver and Frisco spring to mind. Dublin seems a bit less fragmented than the UK but a lot of them (like here) depend on the state to get sorted. Never mind Heroin on prescription - regulate the opium trade.
I've rabbitted on enough for the mo' - gotta put some sounds on.
Hope to hear from you again soon,
bb
PS are you still in Hawaii?
In the 80s in Zurich after they established needle park in Plataszpitz, the cops would have to give you your drugs back if when they stoped you your papers were in order and they found a bag.
Holy crap! thats a lot of gear they seized there!! But it just shows that there is plenty of gear on the move!!! Why is it not making its way over to this kip? GURRrrrrr.......!!!! 
Although it probably is making its way over here, but the dealers are just cutting it RIGHT down coz they know that people are desperate & that they will buy anything at this stage!!![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
@XMitch