Sep 26, 2003  |  By: JOE CREA  | COMMENTS     

He used to call himself a “promoter” or “event planner,” never a dealer of crystal methamphetamine. But Corbin, a 31-year-old Virginia resident, said he sold large amounts of crystal on and off for the past 10 years and claims to have been instrumental in marketing and introducing the drug to the Washington, D.C. gay club scene.

“We tried to put a new face on crystal, make it hip, cool,” said Corbin, who spoke on condition that his real name not be used. “Crystal was something that only dirty, deviant people did. Gay men did it on a whim during the Black Party, to say, ‘be dark.’ We re-marketed it, gave it a new face.”

Corbin said he adopted the well-established practice of using “runners” to find club-goers interested in buying the drug, and who then closed the sale with or without the dealer’s actual involvement.

“We got very urbane-looking runners into the clubs wearing Diesel jeans,” said Corbin, “and kicked out the runners who looked like they came out of a ditch.”

Corbin spoke about his drug dealing in business terms and compared the collapse of his enterprise to that of the fall of Rome. He even fashioned himself as the “Oliver Twist” character Fagin, the criminal who acts as an entertainer. He said he started selling crystal meth — also known as “tina” or “T” or “speed” — after well-heeled acquaintances asked repeatedly about where they could purchase the drug.

“My wealthy friends wanted a higher grade of a product that you can only get from the distribution level, so you buy wholesale,” Corbin said. “But after a while, you are doing too many favors. Suddenly, everyone is calling you asking where they can get whatever for Friday night. I mean, after a while, you would be pretty ridiculous not to say, ‘I want to get money for this.’”

D.C. meth arrives via West Coast
The market for crystal in Washington, D.C., is limited — relegated primarily to the gay club scene — and most of the methamphetamine in D.C. comes from sources in California, via overnight or regular mail delivery services, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency.

The DEA said that crystal prices vary from region to region in the United States. Distribution prices range from $3,500 per pound in parts of California and Texas to $21,000 per pound in southeastern and northeastern regions. The retail price ranges from $400 to $3,000 per ounce.

The DEA also noted that because of international chemical control efforts, which have reduced the amount of available chemicals needed to produce high-grade crystal, the purity standards of available crystal have decreased dramatically.

DEA statistics show that the purity of seized methamphetamine dropped from 71.9 percent in 1994 to 30.7 percent in 1999. The average purity of crystal seized in 2000 rose slightly to 35.3 percent and 40.1 in 2001.

Just business?
Corbin described the structure and operation of the D.C. drug world, and in particular his now defunct business, as that of a typical legitimate business operation. The head of distribution, or CEO as Corbin called him, is the point man for the labs. The head of distribution handles “anything logistical” and buys directly from the labs and in some cases may own the lab.

The Drug Abuse Warning Network tracks the number of times a drug is mentioned in connection with emergency room visits in 21 major metropolitan areas. (Source: Drug Abuse Warning Network, SAMHSA, 2000)

Corbin described himself as the marketer for his “company.” He said that most drug dealers in D.C. transitioned from the cocaine business to the world of crystal. He added that cocaine is a far more organized business and said he was eager to take the principles from that venture and apply them to crystal dealings. But he quickly learned that most dealers in the crystal business are also abusers, making it virtually impossible to establish an efficient, clandestine organization.

“Coke’s typical high gives [the user] a god complex,” Corbin said. “The ...