Between Christmas celebrations, rum cakes and endless amounts of dancing and alcohol, a new favourite has joined New Year parties--marijuana. Even though its possession is illegal in India and despite strict legislations, the unfortunate reality is that marijuana usage is readily becoming more common with the only limitation of having to use it behind closed doors. Weed, colloquially also referred to as ‘stuff’, ‘grass’ and ‘maal’, is easily accessible with more people considering it to be an affordable intoxicant. Lucknow is not the one to fall behind with a booming trade that exists in the dark.
HT set out to get a sneak peek at the secret business of weed in the state capital only to find that acquiring some of it was far easier than one might imagine.
SHADY LOCATION
The first lead was acquired from a tea stall owner at Gomti Nagar Extension found nonchalantly smoking a joint (a marijuana cigarette) at his shop. When asked about his source/dealer, the man vaguely answered that it could be brought from a secret place near Hahnemann Crossing (Viraj Khand).
“I do not have a [phone] number but you can visit this place and a man (with certain physical features) can be found standing under a banyan tree. All you need is to stand there for a while and he will understand,” the tea-seller said. “Then you can ask him about the ‘stuff’.” He said the spot, a quiet dark location across a railway track, was at least a kilometre away from the bustling Hahnemann Crossing.
Once this HT team reached the location, finding the exact spot was still quite a task. A few minutes of waiting followed after reaching the aforementioned banyan tree when a few men in approached them and, in hushed tones, asked, “Kya chahiye (what do you want)?”
{{/usCountry}}Once this HT team reached the location, finding the exact spot was still quite a task. A few minutes of waiting followed after reaching the aforementioned banyan tree when a few men in approached them and, in hushed tones, asked, “Kya chahiye (what do you want)?”
{{/usCountry}}Their daily dealings take place much the same way. Once prices and quantities are agreed upon, a man takes the money while others in the group fetch the ‘stuff’ in less than a minute.
Interestingly, even minors are involved in the dealings. Though this group’s permanent ‘business spot’ is under a tree, it sometimes changes its place of dealings to nearby the railway track, barely a couple of hundred metres away, to avoid police attention, one of the peddlers in the group said.
Areas where such dealings take place are mostly in the dark, and the knowledge of their existence only spread through word-of-mouth. Their reputation grows with their clients.
Allegedly, the ‘supply’ that comes from Ayodhya and Barabanki among other places are split among dealers who each have their own client bases.
The contraband, however, is not the only one with street names. Even dealers themselves use made-up names to protect their identities. Their real names are known only to a few.
‘STUFF FROM MANALI, KASOL MOST EXPENSIVE’
Wrapped in newspapers, marijuana can be easily bought for ₹200, sometimes even lower. The rates, however, go up to thousands of rupees. Mere grams of marijuana, if sourced from Manali or Kasol, can cost between ₹6,000 and ₹8,000. Even though cash is the most preferred mode of transaction, young boys with UPI QR codes also approach people who come looking to ‘score’.
HOME DELIVERY
In some cases, dealers also hand-deliver the ‘stash’ to their clients. “Kab tak aana hai? (By what time should I come?),” a peddler asked these HT reporters on WhatsApp. When asked about the rates, he said: “Ek ₹1200 ki 25 grams hai, ₹3000 ka 25 gram hai aur ₹700 for 12 grams.” There were three varieties of the contraband available with him.
These group of dealers said it has survived multiple police crackdowns and also the Covid pandemic.
What police say
“We often get information about drug peddling through our informants and take action against peddlers,” said Aparna Rajat Kaushik, deputy commissioner of police (Central) and the Lucknow police’s spokesperson. “We run drives during festivals. Police drives to curb open drinking are already underway.”
‘Scoring’ spots in city
Bhopal House, Lal Bagh
Hahnemann Crossing
Mawaiya Crossing
Near Hyderabad Colony in Nishatganj
Near BBD police station in Chinhat
Near the engineering college in Jankipuram/Aliganj