In service of my very favorite lady: Mary Jane

I don't drink, smoke cigarettes, snort coke, or even include coffee in my regular diet. I pretty much never take pharmaceuticals aside from the occasional ibuprofen and I've been able to sustain on nothing but my right hand and an internet connection for months, even year (s) on end.

I'm not a health nut or anything, I've never eaten well or exercised regularly, and as such I've definitely got some extra weight around the midsection; I just never caught the bug for drinking or cigarettes. I do have one strong predilection though: weed. Also known as pot or marijuana. I love me some mary jane. Oh by the way did you know Obama has expressed a desire for decriminalization? The guy really does have actual common sense it's pretty incredible for a politician.

I've lived in BA for a year now, gotta another year or so to go. I've been hanging out doing some writing and programming, and smoking like a chimney because all I've been able to marry my strong habitual addiction to herb with is the paraguayan brick that seems to be status quo in these parts.

Now I'm from New York by way of Seattle, and I've been lucky enough to have had fairly consistent sources of good quality ganja. In Seattle there's a ton of good herb around because of it's proximity to British Columbia, and it's fairly affordable. Again I was very lucky to have lived there when I was in high school and post high school and generally not in the wealthiest of positions. When I moved to New York the prices went up, way up, but eventually I found a hookup that while more then double the price of what I used to pay in Seattle was pretty definitely the best weed I ever smoked. The strain was / is called Sour Diesel, and man, it's aweeeesome. It's all I ever wanted to and pretty much all I did smoke for years. Sure it was seven bills a zip, but man it was worth it. The thing with paying more for good weed is it often pays for itself simply by way of not needing to consume as much. Anyhow, I was spoiled and it was good times, but I left and came here and brick it was.

After over a year of brick brick and more brick, sometimes even bricks of mostly leaf which is just terrible, I finally started to get the itch. I suppose it helped that I started to make a little more money as well so maybe I was simply letting the itch be felt.

So I started asking around, but with little luck, and finally, unexpectedly, bang, I meet this chick (non pro) who said she knows a guy. It's pretty expensive she says but I don't even hear her say that. Yes I say. Please. Yes.

I get her number and a few days later she let's me know she talked to her friend. When I first talked to her she said last time she checked (which seemed like it may have been a while ago) it was 20 pesos a gram. If it was quality weed that sounded plenty cheap to me. So I talk to her after she's got the 411 and now it's 40 pesos a gram. Whatever I think, to be expected. So I'm pretty excited. The taste of fruityness in my mouth, maybe even the ability to catch a buzz with just a piece of glass. Yes, I say yes.

So she says she can get me 35 grams. Let's meet later today, no prob I respond. Then she says the price is $1000 pesos. Now 35 grams at 40 a gram is 1400 but whatever, I'm not going to complain. I make the trip to the bank and then to meet her and she's having dinner with her daughter or something so there's no time to chat. She asks me if I want to check it out and say no that's alright. She says we'll talk tomorrow, cheek kiss, taxi, apartment.

Now. I didn't have super high expectations. Considering I've been buying quarter kilos of brick for a while now to roll large joint after large joint day after day I figured most any type of quality would be refreshing.

So I open up the bag, and what do I find? Stems. Big ones, picked over pretty well too, with little fluffy not so thick and juicy chunks of bud around them. I can't really even believe what I'm seeing for a second, because it just doesn't make any sense. In a bit of a daze I proceed to pick off all the bud from the stems and put them into a zip lock bag so I can see what I'm actually getting. I do this, and man, it ain't pretty. I don't have a scale or anything but there's maybe eight or nine grams of actual bud there. That's right, out of '35 grams' there's maybe 8 or 9 of actual usable herb.

OK, so let me get one thing out in the open here. I'm an American, born and bred, and living here in Argentina is my first experience abroad. At first all the differences I disagreed with or didn't approve of (electronics wtf?) Bugged me, but then after a while I started to realize that it's just different here. Sure maybe things are fucked up or however you want to describe them but bottom line is this is a different place where they do things differently and that's just the way it is.

So when it came to getting good weed, I assumed I would get ripped off to a certain extent. Over charging seems like a big thing here, and there's often a lack of vision for the future, repeat business, etc. But man, charging 40 pesos a gram for a sack that's two thirds stem is just mind blowingly insane. I mean seriously, what the fuck. I've been smoking weed my whole life and I have never, ever, even heard of some shit like this happening. I mean, it just doesn't make any sense. If it's really 120 pesos a gram then charge me 120 a gram. Like I'm not going to notice that's it's two thirds stem? Am I a total retard? Do you not want me to come back? Isn't that how you make money, on the come back?

I don't think this chick ripped me off. She probably taxed me, maybe even pretty good, but again that's to be expected. In a way I don't even fault the actual provider with the whole kit and kaboodle, no, there's something deeper here, something sociological and pathological. Something really deeply ingrained somewhere somehow that would allow a decidedly premium service provider to do something so horrendously unfathomable and consider it OK on whatever level they must to sleep at night.

Anyhow, I'm going to stay on the lookout, continue to shake the trees as a friend who was consoling me was saying earlier this morning. But man, seriously, I found this experience truly depressing. Not because of the money exactly, just the fact that someone would do something this dishonest/shady/scamy and somehow think it was ok, somehow think it was a reasonable strategy with which to run their business. I could easily spend a couple few grand in this arena during the rest of my time here and now they're never going to see another dime, all for a hundred maybe a hundred fifty bucks in profit.

I just don't get it.

Tiz

Heh.

Well, I spent most of the first part of my first year thinking "things are different here, but I like it and I'll just deal with the difference."

I have traveled the world for the last 15 years or so. I wasn't someone who just made his first trip to a foreign country and couldn't believe that things were not done like they were at home.

There is indeed a pathology here. And believe that your lady acquaintance who was your contact in your buying experience was just as likely to have been the person who shorted you, just as those along the line were as likely. Just because the woman seems nice, up-front, etc, doesn't necessarily mean that she isn't thinking "this is a dumb estadounidense who has money dripping out of his pores (no matter how many times you tell her you're not rich, you're from the US) and the worst that will happen (if she even really thinks that far) is he'll never ask me to do this again" and the pathology within her comes out.

There are things I really like about Argentina, but some of the pathology that exists creates at best a balance that makes it hard to say "I like living here."

I don't have any personal knowledge of these things, but a friend of mine who is too shy to post has relayed the following observations:

1. That brown, compacted, foul smelling, foul smoking, dirt weed that you described is pretty much standard here in Argentina, which is disappointing given that Argentina is essentially an agricultural country.

2. Argentinos always talk about price per weight, but they never actually weigh anything, and thus the actual weights are always 20%-50% less than the stated amount one actually pays for.

3. At one point my friend brought a cheap digital scale with him from the states, and thus began actually weighing his purchases on receipt, much to the disconcernation of his suppliers. After realizing that he was only going to pay for the actual weight that was delivered, his connection solved the problem by advising him that the price was now a fixed price for whatever weight was delivered.

4. He's quit using chicas to make connections because they just can't resist the opportunity to double the price. He says that the cheapest source he's found is to buy the Argentina equivalent of nickel bags purchased directly off the streets in neighborhoods known for this activity, to which he is introduced with help of cooperative taxi drivers.

Thanks

[QUOTE=Tizzza]So I started asking around, but with little luck, and finally, unexpectedly, bang, I meet this chick (non pro) who said she knows a guy. It's pretty expensive she says but I don't even hear her say that. Yes I say. Please. Yes.

So I open up the bag, and what do I find? Stems. Big ones, picked over pretty well too, with little fluffy not so thick and juicy chunks of bud around them. I can't really even believe what I'm seeing for a second, because it just doesn't make any sense. In a bit of a daze I proceed to pick off all the bud from the stems and put them into a zip lock bag so I can see what I'm actually getting. I do this, and man, it ain't pretty. I don't have a scale or anything but there's maybe eight or nine grams of actual bud there. That's right, out of '35 grams' there's maybe 8 or 9 of actual usable herb.

I don't think this chick ripped me off. She probably taxed me, maybe even pretty good, but again that's to be expected. In a way I don't even fault the actual provider with the whole kit and kaboodle, no, there's something deeper here, something sociological and pathological. Something really deeply ingrained somewhere somehow that would allow a decidedly premium service provider to do something so horrendously unfathomable and consider it OK on whatever level they must to sleep at night.

I just don't get it.

Tiz[/QUOTE]Whoa Dude! Shit, I completely forgot what I was going to say.

Oh yeah, now I remember. Where is a cop when you need one?

Anybody have any Cheetos?

I have to say kudos to you for actually scoring something that looks like pot!

If I were you searching for the good high I would buy a bunch of the shitty stuff and make pot butte, r then make cookies, toast etc.

I feel your pain. I am from the PNW also. That 300$ would have got you a nice Oz. Here.

Looks like it was picked over through every step of the way. You usually have to smoke with the guy you bought it from, down the line it gets picked over from the top down.

Did you get stoned or was it like the shitty stuff?

Cheers!

The quality is ok, definitley stronger then the brick. I just sampled a bowl and then a small joint. It's not thick and resiny, it's light and fluffy so it's going to go real fast. I would have to smoke the whole bag to really get a good feel for how it is but oddly enough I don't even want to, there's so little there. I put it in the freezer, maybe I'll roll the whole thing up in one or two joints on a special occasion and just take it down in one sitting. That sound way more fun then the probably marginally enjoyable task of smoking those fluffy grams of air over the course of a few days.

I got a lead on another angle maybe though, so I'll keep plugging away at the dream.

Tiz

I feel your pain Tizzza and it's so common I don't even notice it when I'm there. The thing is, either you are inside and family hence protected unto death or you are outside and somebody that stealing / misrepresenting / hustling ect. is ok.

Next time if the deal is no good walk away. Then the chica who picked over your bud is on the hook for the 300 bucks and has to go back to whomever gave her the weed and explain why the bag is all fucked up.

Whoever has the money has the power.

That being said, my ex used to smoke weed a lot. We were together for a couple years and she never had anything better than skunk. I've often thought growing cronic down there would be a good living. They don't have the advanced surveillance like here in the EEUU and the electricity is subsidized by the government.

I know 5 or 6 guys on this board alone that would support this agricultural experiment.

[QUOTE=Daddy Rulz]I feel your pain Tizzza and it's so common I don't even notice it when I'm there. The thing is, either you are inside and family hence protected unto death or you are outside and somebody that stealing / misrepresenting / hustling ect. Is ok.

Next time if the deal is no good walk away. Then the chica who picked over your bud is on the hook for the 300 bucks and has to go back to whomever gave her the weed and explain why the bag is all fucked up.

Whoever has the money has the power.

That being said, my ex used to smoke weed a lot. We were together for a couple years and she never had anything better than skunk. I've often thought growing cronic down there would be a good living. They don't have the advanced surveillance like here in the EEUU and the electricity is subsidized by the government.

I know 5 or 6 guys on this board alone that would support this agricultural experiment.[/QUOTE]I agree. The shit in BSAS is that "SHIT" But will usually do in a bind. But it makes you jones for actual real stuff. To grow real stuff would blow people away. Personal use is best because I would be cautious as to selling it, maybe just to good friends.

[QUOTE=Daddy Rulz]Next time if the deal is no good walk away. Then the chica who picked over your bud is on the hook for the 300 bucks and has to go back to whomever gave her the weed and explain why the bag is all fucked up.[/QUOTE]Nice plan, except I'll bet that he had to front her the funds because you always have to front the funds because nobody in this country EVER has any fucking money, and specifically nobody EVER has any fucking money to fund even their own for-profit transaction.

This is a conundrum when buying stuff in Argentina, because it inevitably leads to the loss of your "connection". It's not even that your connection is pre-disposed to rip you off, it's that the Arges just can't help themselves. As you continue to front them the purchase funds, sooner or later, one day, with the best of intentions, they're going to run into a bunch of their buddies and use your advanced funds to go drinking (or some other stupidity) the advanced funds will be spent, they won't have any of their own funds (god forbid) and thus they will be forced to either hide from you or come back to you with some stupid story. Either way, you'll never get your goods or your money back, and most importantly you can't possible do any further business with the same individual.

Thanks

Obtaining good "Weed" in Argentina is simply impossible.

Its both expensive and the "Shittyest" quality I've ever smoked.

Its so bad that I've even considered bringing my own. But its not worth the chance of being caught with so of course I don't.

My advice to "Smoker's" is to find a Chica and have her due your "Dirty Work" for you. Don't make any transaction over $100 peso's and make allowances for the Chica, say $30 peso's or so mark up or commission, make her happy.

If you get burned in the "DD" so what you've lost $30 USD, no big deal.

You want an independent to due Your "Dirty Work" for you and for that reason I would not approach a club girl unless I knew her well.

Good places to find such Chica's are La Madeleine, Cafe Orlean's and New Port but you should know the chica before you solicit such a transaction. In other words you should be "Fuck Buddy's" first which breads confidence in one another.

As an example Caroline, the "Ball Washer" in Cafe Orleans I'm sure, if I asked, would score me some smoke since we're old friends.

You smokers should stop by your local "Head Shop" and buy a grinder before boarding your flight to Argentina. You'll need a grinder since their weed down there is so compacted its unsmokeable unless you can find away grind it into smokeable size.

Moreover, the weed down their is horrible and expensive, but if your into "Blow" its cheap. $30 peso's a gram, less than $10 USD and its not been "Stepped On", at least not stepped on very hard. I did a line a couple trips back, (just for old times sake) and it was very, very high quality.

Finally if your gona play don't be caught with any "Weight" and alway's insulate your self with a "Third Party" between you and the transaction.

Exon

[QUOTE=Exon123]My advice to "Smoker's" is to find a Chica and have her due your "Dirty Work" for you. Don't make any transaction over $100 peso's and make allowances for the Chica, say $30 peso's or so mark up or commission, make her happy.

Exon[/QUOTE]I agree. This is my MO and works well for me. As for potency, I'm not looking to get my head handed to me anymore. Mediocre dope suits me fine.:)

I last left BA in early December, so I missed all these comments below. While I was there I scored some decent Paraguayan brick from a guy I met through Craigslist. I placed an ad and got a good reply from a college student making extra money on the side. He told me that every few months he gets a great batch of hydro grown locally in BA, and that he has clients who buy in bulk at these special times. Unfortunately he didn't have any at that moment, but told me that if I were staying a long time, he would let me know when the next time it's available. I was only there for 3 weeks, so I was happy just to find a connection but I'm sure he would be amenable to new customers for the good stuff. BTW, the brick was 50P for a piece about 3-5 grams, so a real bargain by North American prices.

So I have read articles on how pot culture in BA in on the rise.

I will be in BA next week, anyone suggestions on where to hook up the real deal?

¡Gracias Caballeros!

Talk to the chicas, some like to smoke with there johns. Be ready for shitty shit. The decent stuff is out there but its hard to find.

[QUOTE=Gato Hunter]Talk to the chicas, some like to smoke with there johns. Be ready for shitty shit. The decent stuff is out there but its hard to find.[/QUOTE]I have lived in ARG for five years, I know of the brown frown you speak of. That's why I posted here.