In the spring, I had the idea to grow marijuana and make some money. I told Stacey, and she didn’t object, but she did tell me to be careful. I envisioned making about $20,000 in the first year, and then reinvesting some of that to make $500,000 the following year. I wanted to settle down with Stacey, have a normal life, and forget about the past. I researched growing weed online and discovered that location and discretion were key.
I found a website called icmag.com, and in the forum section, I found a thread called “MASSIVE OUTDOOR GROW.”
It was created by a user who called himself “Julian.” It was a long thread, but it contained a lot of useful information about growing weed. I couldn’t grow weed indoors, so I wanted to do it outdoors, under the sun, as nature intended. I spoke to the drug dealer who supplied Stacey and me with weed, and he told me it would be hard work, not only because it was illegal, but also because someone else could find my plants.
I started scouting locations to grow my weed, visiting several places I had in mind. First, I went to a hill in the suburbs where there was a quarry. I explored the south side, but nothing seemed suitable. Then I headed east towards the mountains above Omiš. The location seemed promising, but it was right next to a state road, and I’d be risking too much being seen there with bags of soil and other supplies. I returned home and started searching online for maps showing the cadastral situation around the Split area.
I used arkod.hr to check land ownership, looking for areas that were either privately owned or state-owned. I headed towards the mountains north of Split, exiting the highway onto narrower roads leading to a village. I drove up the mountain, enjoying the beautiful views. The road went past the village and eventually transitioned from asphalt to gravel. The gravel road then continued all the way to the mountain’s summit, which is about 2,000 feet high. I parked next to the small church of St. George and took in the scenery.
The view was incredible. You could see all of Split, the suburbs, the sea, the islands, and the surrounding areas. I explored the south side of the mountain but realized I’d be too exposed; anyone could see me. I got back in my car and drove to the north side. It was typical Mediterranean forest, with some trees and mostly shrubs. The ground was shallow, with rocks and boulders everywhere. I found a spot near a dirt road that seemed like everything would be hidden in plain sight, but I ultimately decided against it. I drove down the mountain on a dirt road and found a small path leading back up to the summit. Near this path was a grassy area with several medium-sized rocks scattered around. I walked on the rocks, careful not to step on the grass, so as not to create a visible trail that someone else could follow. I had to navigate through some prickly bushes as well.
After a while, I ventured further down the mountain, walking on the grass because the terrain required it. I reached an area with more trees and shrubs and decided this was the right spot. It was relatively close to a dirt road, so transporting soil and containers wouldn’t be too difficult, but at the same time, it wasn’t so deep in the wilderness that hunters would stumble upon it easily. I went home and checked arkod.hr again. I located my chosen spot on the map, and it was state-owned land, not currently being used by anyone. The only remaining obstacle was the hunters who roamed the area, but I accepted that as a risk of the endeavor.
In June, I ordered 10 marijuana seeds online and received them a few weeks later. I believe I read somewhere that possessing marijuana seeds wasn’t illegal in Croatia at the time, but growing marijuana without a permit was. This meant growing for scientific purposes would be legal, but what I was planning was completely illegal. I ordered autoflowering seeds. These produce smaller plants with a shorter growth cycle than traditional plants. Summer was passing, and I still hadn’t begun my growing operation. I also ordered water retention gel online so I wouldn’t be as reliant on rain. I had the seeds and the gel, but I still needed soil.
July
My family and I moved out of our neighborhood so we could rent our apartment to tourists. We moved to another neighborhood in Split.
August
I started growing weed at the end of August.
One afternoon, I went to a large store that sold everything for home improvement, including tools, paints, carpentry supplies, and garden soil. I needed an alibi in case someone saw me there, so I decided I would say I was looking for soil for some plants at the Roman museum that Harry and my association had started in Split. I also needed to figure out a system for germinating the seeds because I couldn’t just do it on my balcony or somewhere similar.
I had an idea to use two plastic lids from ice cream containers, placing them one on top of the other. Inside, I put damp paper towels, and I poked several holes in the lids for airflow. I made three of these double-lid containers and placed the seeds inside. Then, I taped each pair of lids together, attached a string, and opened the vents in the storage room next to the apartment to hang them inside. The lids and seeds hung in the ventilation shaft, and I hoped the tape would hold. After putting everything inside, I closed the vent cover. I came back 24 hours later, and most of the seeds had germinated. It was amazing to witness the “birth” of something like that.
I bought four 40-pound bags of high-quality soil and three 4-gallon water containers for initial watering. I loaded everything into my car, drove home, and while in the garage, it hit me: this was really happening, and there was no turning back. It was evening, and I planned to prepare the soil that night and head to the growing site at dawn. I had dinner and then began my first sleepless night, preparing everything for growing weed.
In the middle of the night, I drove to a more secluded part of the garage. I unloaded the soil, laid everything out on the floor, and began mixing. I finished around 3 or 4 in the morning and then set off for the mountains. I took a shortcut on the interstate to avoid a potential police checkpoint about a mile and a half north. I stopped in a small town to fill my containers with water before continuing on to my growing location.
I arrived around 5 a.m. and had to set up three different growing locations. I chose three spots because if I were caught or robbed, the loss would be minimized. First, I unloaded the bags of soil and carried them to the three separate locations. This took me about an hour and a half. I needed to relieve myself, but I didn’t have any toilet paper. I squatted in the bushes and used the smooth surface of a rock to wipe. I didn’t care; I was too focused on the money I was going to make. By 7 a.m., the sun was relatively high in the sky, and it was getting hot. I took off my shirt and continued working. After I had laid out all the soil, I had to transport the water containers to each location. This was easier said than done because each one weighed about 40 pounds. The weight wouldn’t have been a problem if the terrain hadn’t been so difficult. I had to walk on rocks, navigate between bushes, and go up and down the hill while carrying those tanks. Sometimes, while trying to walk on the rocks and avoid thorny bushes simultaneously, I’d lose my balance and almost fall, risking serious injury.
The second time, I actually fell, but thankfully, it was a slow fall. The scorching sun made everything even more difficult. I carried the first two containers to two of the locations, but the last one had to go uphill. I felt like I was going to vomit from the effort. I questioned why I’d gotten into growing weed in the first place, but I kept going. I finished around 2 p.m., completely exhausted and sunburned. I was lucky no one had passed by.
After I finished, I went to my old neighborhood to pick up the germinated seeds from the storage room. When I entered my apartment, my neighbor had just returned from work. She was married with two sons and lived with her husband. She invited me in for a drink, and I accepted.
We were alone in her apartment. I thought she was flirting with me, but I wasn’t interested in sleeping with her. I needed to go home to our other apartment in a different neighborhood because our old apartment was being rented to tourists. I got there around 4 p.m. and immediately fell asleep. I woke up around 6 p.m. to my phone ringing. It was Stacey. She told me her father had passed away. I went to her place, and everyone was crying. I stayed with her that night, and we slept in her room. Two days later, her father’s funeral was held. I was there with her, and I cried as we buried him. He was a war veteran, and some soldiers gave him a final salute by firing their rifles.
September
One day I was on a date with Stacey and she told me that she had tried speed (amphetamine). I was worried, but in the end I got the urge to try it myself. One day we went to a house party with her college classmates and they offered me speed. I accepted the offer and snorted my first line. The speed was indeed speedy. Time passed quickly and I was not tired. I had the ability to drink and smoke indefinitely. I was with Stacey and one of her male friends from college. In the middle of the night, another male friend came and sat next to Stacey. They were relatively close to each other, but I didn’t react. I wanted to break up with her anyway. The two of them went to the balcony to talk, and I stayed inside with her other friend. I told him about my weed growing and by that time about 10 people knew that I was growing weed. It was hard for me to keep my mouth shut because I was proud of what I was doing.
October
College started, and we moved back to our old apartment in the old neighborhood. I attended classes and visited the plants whenever I had the chance.
November
My marijuana growing venture came to an end. I had to figure out how to dry the buds. I laid them out on sheets of paper to dry under some bushes. A few days later, I returned, and everything was wet. I decided to take the risk of transporting all the weed by car to Split and finding a drying location on the peninsula. I succeeded and found a good spot deeper in the woods near a small road. Just as I finished placing everything in the bushes, protected from the rain, I saw a woman walking with a dog about 50 feet behind me. She didn’t see me, but the dog did. Luckily, the dog just stood there and didn’t bark. After a few days, when everything was dry, I weighed it all. There was about 2 ounces in total. I had invested about $1,000 and made about $1,200.
December
I was getting tired of college. One day, during a break between lectures, I was dozing off at my desk. In that liminal space between reality and dreaming, with my eyes closed, I had the strange sensation of seeing my own pants and shoes as if through the table.
@Limbo 
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