NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #3/NN_1993_3.iso/spool/alt/drugs/21241

Text File | 1993-01-21 | 2.1 KB | 50 lines

Newsgroups: alt.drugs
Path: sparky!uunet!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!usc!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!destroyer!cs.ubc.ca!newsserver.sfu.ca!sfu.ca!ktupper
From: [e-mail] (Kenneth William Tupper)
Subject: Exotic Places . . .
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Keywords: India
Sender: [e-mail]
Organization: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 20:11:48 GMT
Lines: 38

    This past autumn I spent about a month and a half in northern
India, where _cannabis_indica_ grows wild.  I went first to Kashmir
where the war between the Kashmiri militant separatists and the Indian
government has evidently not harmed production of _charras_.  The buds
of the plants are not much good for smoking by themselves, but they
give a nice flavour when mixed with _charras_.  Funnily enough, most
of the Europeans I met there seemed to prefer a _charras_/tobacco mix;
even those who weren't nicotine addicts.  A _tolla_ (the local unit of
measurement, originally used by the Chinese for opium I was
told--about ten grams) of _charas_ cost between 120 and 250 rupees, or
4 to 9 US dollars.  A word of warning, though: it is very easy to get
carried away when hash is that cheap.  I smoked entirely too much
there.  Smoking anything in excess is harmful to one's lungs.

    The best stuff in India, however, is found in the Kulu valley
of the state Himachal Pradesh.  The whole town of Manali seems geared
toward catering to Western tourists there to smoke.  If you go in
September you can roll your own _charras_ for free.  The prices are a
bit lower than those I mentioned above.

        Both Kashmir and the Kulu valley are beautiful places in their own
right (regardless of the easy availability of the dope).  And cheap!
In Srinigar I stayed on a super-deluxe houseboat--I'm talking crystal
chandeliers, silk persian carpets, beautiful hand-carved wood
furniture, spacious living room and dining room, and butler-served
meals--for the all-inclusive price of 3 US dollars a night per person.
Of course, one has to put up with the nearby gunfire in the evenings,
but just smoke another chillum and all your worries are gone . . .

                                  --K.T.