McDermott's guide to chasing the dragon. (c) Peter McDermott, 1994 You want the brown heroin - Iranian, Paki, tar, something like that. I don't know how well this would work (if at all) with the white stuff. Get two pieces of aluminum kitchen foil, one about 5" square for your heroin, the other about 3" for your tube. Run a flame over both pieces of foil to remove any coating that may be there. Take the smaller piece and fold each side in by half an inch or so. The reasons for this will be explained later. Then, roll the foil around a pencil or a cigarette to form a tube. Slip the tube off the pencil, and put a slight kink about half an inch from each end so that the tube holds its shape. Fold 1. (Do all 4 sides) |\-----------------------------------\ | \ 1/2" \ ( ) | ------------------------------------- | | | <------- 3"---------> | > < Kink | | | | in tube | | | | (do both ends) | | 3" Then, dump a *big* pile of heroin onto the other piece of foil. GENTLY, tickle the pile of heroin with a flame. A lighter works well. As soon as the powder begins to liquify, remove the flame. The heroin should then cool into a dark brown resinous lump. You can peel this off and hold it to the light. The more translucent this lump is, the less cut there tends to be in the heroin. (A crude rule of thumb, but worth knowing, nonetheless.) OK, now we're ready to roll. What we need to do is roll the bead around the foil *without* burning it. Once the dope bubbles, it burns and you've lost it. so, put your tube in your mouth, then hold the foil at around a 45 degree angle, and tickle the heroin until it begins to vapourize. As it does so, it should form a bead and start to roll down the foil. Chase the bead (and the smoke that it gives off) with your tube - sucking all the time. *Keep that lighter moving! Don't burn the brown!* When you're lungs are full, put the lighter down. Hold the smoke in your lungs. Take a drag on a cigarette. Relax. Let it out slowwww..... Chasing the dragon takes a fair bit of practice. You need to coordinate the lighter, the hand holding the foil, and the tube that follows the bead. It might be easier if a pal holds the foil and the lighter the first few times while you get the hang of it. The reason that the foil is tilted at an angle is because that way, the smoke runs up the foil rather than going straight into the air, so it's easier to avoid waste. Now the best plan is to run the bead the length of the foil, then turn the foil around and run it again at another angle. A ten pound bag should be enough to create a very intricate pattern, as the dope criss-crosses the foil several times. In council houses all over the UK, minor artworks line the waste-paper baskets as tooters tear off a new foil for their next bag. MOMA and the Tate don't know about this tragic loss of a Modern Art form. Anyway, when your dope has finally run from a fat, rolling bead to a fine burnt narrow line, and the smoke has all gone, throw your foil away. Put your smoking tube carefully to one side for a moment, and then make another tube exactly the same as the first. Then, unroll your first smoking tube and unfold the edges. All along the folds, and around the kinks where you had pinched it is vapourized heroin. This dope is much, much purer than the original bag, so make sure that you don't waste it. This is much lighter and clearer in hue than the original, so it's more difficult to see. Be careful with it. Waste not, want not. Smoke the dope on your first tube the same way you did the dope on the foil. Happy trails... DISCLAIMER This information is not intended to encourage anybody to use heroin. Heroin is a dangerous, addictive drug. However, if you do intend to use heroin, smoking is almost as efficient as injecting, and has far fewer risks associated with it. If you *must* inject, then don't share works, spoons, filters or any other paraphernalia. This information file can be freely circulated in electronic form. However, permission is not granted to cut, add to or amend this information in any way, shape or form. If you wish to use the information in any other way, please contact the author peter@petermc.demon.co.uk (c) Peter McDermott, September, 1994 --