By: Nicholas Renard
When I graduated from high school, the only reservation I had when applying for colleges was purely fiscal. The thought of borrowing money from the federal government to fund my education plagued me.
After three semesters at a local, state university proved inadequately stimulating, I finally embraced my plight and withdrew multiple federal loans, and eventually transferred to the University of Kansas.
But one university student took a different route.
Convincing him to agree to this story took choice words and subtle persuasion. We ran into each other late one night in a downtown Lawrence dive and, after several beers, he agreed.
I prayed that his decision would hold fast once dawn broke and the booze cleared out and, to my luck, it did.
He is 23-years-old and, for the sake of anonymity, we’ll call him John Doe.
That afternoon, John and I met again in a quiet corner of the library. He was already heading there for an extensive homework binge. I sat down beside him and took out my phone to record our interview.
“I’d rather you didn’t record this,” he said. I pocketed my phone.
So tell me what it is you do.
“Well, I sell marijuana.”
John’s average-sized and roughly six foot, with an unrelentingly infectious smile. His deliberate tone never extends to curtness even when he asks that I not reveal his home town.
“Western Kansas is fine,” he added.
In 2009, a year or so after graduating high school, John was living on his own in Wichita. His habits were getting pricy and so he took the next step.
“I’ve always been a smoker,” he said. “I got tired of spending money so we bought a little.”
That little amount in 2009 was a pound. John can’t remember how much he and a couple friends paid for it. It didn’t last long.
“Not very long at all,” he said. “All of my friends were smokers too, it maybe lasted two weeks.”
John and his buddies sold some of that first pound to mostly friends and acquaintances. He said they barely broke even, but they didn’t mind.
“We just wanted stuff for free,” he said. He laughed.
Now, four years later, John lives in Lawrence and is a junior taking 13 hours at the university. While he hasn’t decided on a major, he’s leaning toward elementary education and hopes to one day teach overseas in the Peace Corps.
When John isn’t working 30 to 40 hours a week at either of his two jobs, he works from home, providing marijuana to a client base of roughly 20 people.
They’re mostly friends and acquaintances too. He said he likes to keep it that way. You know, less risk.
“You always have to be careful. I rarely sell to strangers without a good reference from a friend,” he said.
Since he began selling in Lawrence around a year and a half ago, John’s illegal dealings have kept low-key and he said nowadays business blends in well with his routine. He keeps dealings small and sells mainly for personal reasons.
“I’m in it [the business] to not spend money on weed,” he said. “I go to school and have two jobs, I have to relax.”
Every three to four days, John takes a quick drive to a source’s house which “really takes no time at all.”
They shoot the bull, banter about sports for a bit, then a thick envelope emerges, a vacuum sealed bag is handed over, and he’s out the door again. Quick and easy.
That brick is usually a quarter-pound of wholesale weed from Colorado or California, he said. It usually runs about $1000. Things have changed since 2009.
Business for John is restricted to menial amounts of marijuana, which he distributes in usually one ounce amounts, though some clients buy more. He said after selling a quarter pound and saving a bit for recreational use, his profits are around $350.
And are you saving any of that?
“Am I saving? Not really. I buy [school] books, go to bars and pay bills,” he said.
What about student loans, do you have any?
He laughed, “Oh yeah.”
John took out student loans just like me. He said he’s currently sitting on around $10,000 in debt.
He said his dealings probably won’t make a sizable dent in his student loans for quite some time, maybe never. His business is currently stable and under the radar, and he has no intentions of expanding.
While going bigger no doubt means more money, the Sword of Damocles sways to and fro.
John’s self-motivated dealings conjure images of early 19th-century America. That rugged individualism we once held in such lofty regard.
Maybe his business isn’t big and glamorous enough to yield any extreme profits, but it works for his needs. He has seized an opportunity not everyone is presented with and made it his own. He’s chosen risk over refuge and saunters on, day after day. Wasn’t that the American Dream?
“The worst part is when you hear about other people getting in trouble. I’ve thought about going bigger but the risks outweigh the gains,” he said. “I never want to get caught and right now I’m not a huge target.”
And since moving to Lawrence, John has yet to have any run-ins with the law.
“I’ve never been in trouble,” he said. “I was arrested twice in Wichita for drinking under age when I was 18, but I got diversions.”
In fact, back in Wichita, John had far more of a wild side.
“I wanted to try everything. Coke, ecstasy, legal salvia, you name it. I was a pain in the ass to my parents, and only went to school sometimes,” he said.
But in Lawrence, he’s calmed down considerably. He still drinks socially and smokes marijuana often, but avoids anything harder.
“I really don’t think there’s anything wrong with marijuana,” he said. “Drinking, pills –those are more dangerous. The worst side effect of weed is just being tired more in the middle of the day.”
John has subsequently told his parents about his illicit dealings.
“They’re definitely not fans, but they know that I’ve calmed down. They know I’m an adult and can be responsible for myself,” he said.
John is thankful for moving to Lawrence and praised its liberal attitude. His business is stable and his clientele help keep operations discrete and, despite a hefty workload, his GPA hovers around 3.4.
Romance is on his mind too. As he described his “hopeless romantic” nature, he said girls mature much faster than guys until a certain age, but these days girls would prefer to party rather than settle down.
He isn’t into that, he’d prefer someone to settle down with and just play it cool.
Until then, it’s business as usual.
“When people hear drug dealer they think, they make so much money, and yeah, those kinds of people are out there,” he said. “But most people you pick up from just need a bit of extra help with bills. Plus the free weed is great.”
He laughed.
So did I.
The Kansas View 