Chapter 5
"The Glasgow Caledonian University study of 126 users of the class A drug found many were holding down normal jobs and relationships and passing exams. The report said heroin could be taken in a controlled way" - BBC
It is an odd thing about heroin. A large percentage of addicts were abused as children, most often sexually. So the government failed to protect them as kids, and then arrests them as adults. Those in countries with legalized heroin and thus a constant quality available live longer, hold down jobs, families. With illegal heroin there is no quality control, the result is often death. By making heroin illegal, we give a death sentence to the self medicating abused.
There was a lot of dope around the music scene and a lot of musicians were deep into drug, especially heroin. People--musicians--were considered hip in some circles if they shot smack. Some of the younger guys like Dexter Gordon, Tadd Dameron, Art Blakey, J. J. Johnson, Sonny Rollins, Jackie McLean, and myself--all of us--started getting heavily into heroin around the same time. Despite the fact that Freddie Webster had died from some bad stuff. Besides Bird, Sonny Stitt, Bud Powell, Fats Navarro, Gene Ammons were all using heroin, not to mention Joe Guy and Billie Holiday, too.There were a lot of white musicians--Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Red Rodney, and Chet Baker--who were also heavily into shooting drugs.
-Miles Davis in "Miles: the autobiography", page 129
Del sat at the kitchen table as his pal drained the spoon with his syringe. Del puffed on his cigarette and waited for his turn. He was nervous, but ready.
"Like man Bird, you dig, Charlie Parker can riff and jam off a sound and this dude who wrote HOWL, whatsisnameagin?", the pal asked.
Del looked up from the spoon, "Ginsberg".
"Yeah, yeah that's him, he's like a poet but he's a jazz poet man the way he riffs off the word 'who' is so cool and that's heroin man. That is heroin.That's poetry and all that jazz man, jazz and poetry are heroin. It's a consciousness a beat. A beat. A beat. It's ON THE ROAD so it isn't just poetry its everywhere, dig?".
Del nodded.
"We'll do this and go to Red Drum man and hear some poets. You'll see the heroin is the fuel of art man, its so cool. Here, let me do you first man. Bird did a tune about his dealer man, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDo_CPvdlP4 maybe he owed him money or he like was paying him tribute, roll up your sleeve man, but if you like this you can maybe do a comedy bit on me, Skeetz you know, like make comedy into jazz or poetry, ok I'm gonna put this in man your arm is so clean here we go...."
WOWWHATAFUCKINGRUSHLIKEFALLINGOFFACLIFFBUTLANDINGINMIDAIR it's warm. warm. warm like the night before christmas when dad was still alive and warm like a fireplace with a hot girl warm like butter left on a hot stove I can't move my legs my eyes I'm moving but where why am I moving my legs are so heavy I feel sick I feel sick that's it what if I could have said the words that kept dad alive I threw up I think or did I my eyes I'm so sleepy can't make the scene must make the scene I want to experience everything I want to sleep.
perchance to dream.
