Orlando

Law Enforcement

Orlando cops generally seemed to have other priorities in a city people described as having a high crime rate. Hotboxing a car or smoking in public could still get you arrested. One account describes getting cuffed even for under 20 g, leaving it up to the officer whether you went to jail or got a ticket, with US$420 quoted as the fine. It describes cooperation and racial bias as factors in how stops went. Downtown and Winter Park had a stricter reputation than residential neighborhoods, although others found Winter Park fairly indifferent and Orlando officers patient overall.

Where to Buy Marijuana

Orlando never had much of a dependable street market. People mostly dealt through friends or with somebody who looked like part of the scene. Weekend nights downtown could feel like one big party around the bars and clubs, with plenty of bicycle cops around, too. The University of Central Florida area had good buds and college kids looking to make an extra buck. Regs were harder to find downtown than in less affluent neighborhoods. College Park, just north of downtown, was adding restaurants and places to hang out, and the young people working and socializing there often knew the scene.

Marijuana Prices

• Regs: US$20–25 per ¼ oz, US$30–45 per ½ oz, and quotes from US$40–50 to US$65, US$90 and even US$100–150 per oz.
• Funk: US$20 per gram, US$25–30 for a half-track (about 1.7 g), US$50–60 per ⅛ oz, US$90–110 per ¼ oz, US$175–200 per ½ oz and US$300–400 per oz.
• Kryp or Crippy: US$25 per 1/16 oz or roughly 1.7 g, US$50 per ⅛ oz, around US$100 per ¼ oz or US$300 per oz.
• Kush or hydro: US$25 per gram.
• Fire: US$30 for 1.7 g, US$60 per ⅛ oz or US$350–400 per oz. Other quotes put highs at US$50–60 per ⅛ oz, or US$35–45 with the right connections.

Better flower had become easier to find over the preceding five years, but Miami imports and indoor grows were pushing the price of dank up. For small sellers, that could mean adding US$5 to a sixteenth and US$10 to an eighth.

Types of Marijuana

Miami brought in Haze, fruity BC flower, Mango, Kush and Blueberry. The home growers up in DeLand, about 30–40 minutes away, could turn out crosses like Cali O × Agent Orange and Blueberry × Bubblegum. Those guys weren’t rookies. Some of the strongest flower was seedless homegrown hydro, while lower-grade imports were said to come from Mexico and Colombia via the Bahamas. Regs were the budget choice and could beat schwag elsewhere. Kryp varied by strain but had a reputation for coming in fresh from Miami.

More Information

In a tourist town, knowing a local or two made a difference. Pizza drivers were an untested tip, and hotel housekeepers, cab drivers and bartenders all came up. A rough guess put the share of theme park staff who smoked at half, though employees could understandably suspect a company person fishing for a reason to fire them. Meeting people off the clock was more natural. UCF is about 20 minutes from downtown and feels like the college side of Orlando. As elsewhere, the best connections were among friends.