Heroin Bags of Hartford
These are all heroin bags I have found on the streets of Hartford. Not all bags have stamps. I have found many plain white envelopes. Some of these stamps may have been lying in the grass for awhile, others were fresh. Some of the bags such as Avatar, Focus and New World are commercially produced bags and can be bought in packages of 600 on eBay for about $30. $30 for the bags, not the heroin, which the packager must supply. My favorite stamps are the locally stamped ones like Chief, Black Widow and Dead Man. I admit to being fascinated by the names. I understand that dealers brand their bags to help establish customer loyalty and increase sales. It also helps the buyer know what to expect when purchasing. If a user has a certain brand on Monday, it is likely if he buys the same brand on Tuesday, he will find dope of the same quality. If he buys a brand on Monday, but then does not have that brand again for a month, the dope is likely going to be of a different quality. Some dealers start a brand off at a very high quality, and then go gradually lower it until no one wants it anymore. other dealers try to keep the same quality product all the time as they take a longer view of customer satisfaction. Sometimes a particular brand is considered very good, other dealers will stamp the name of that back on their envelopes and sell it in hopes of getting in on the vibe.
While I have been aware of the heroin stamps since I began as a paramedic in Hartford back in 1995, I never paid much attention until August of this past year. As I wrote about in Black Jack back on August 4, I did three heroin overdoses in one shift and all three had Black Jack wrappers on scene. In the coming days, I started seeing Black Jack wrappers on the ground, outside markets, near benches, and when we stepped out of the ambulance on emergency calls. In the days since, I started picking the wrappers up , and in just five months have accumulated over 250 different stamps in the city of Hartford alone. My partner and I have also picked up over 50 syringes, which we have safely disposed of in our sharps boxes. We have also engaged our patients in discussion of the stamps and are learning quite a bit about this unique culture. (Some patients say they will drive all over town looking for a certain brand, while others are strictly interested in what is inside the envelopes, not noticing or caring about the brand. This is how we learned that Black Jack was actually not heroin, but 100% Fentanyl — at least according to three of our patient sources — it was likely cut to some degree with other substances). Our latest source said Black Jack was so strong she and another experienced user only had to split a bag to get high. The discussion with users have been interesting not only in learning about the drug culture, but in learning about the nature of addiction. I view substance users as brothers and sisters who deserve our compassion and help. I am committed to working with others to save lives from accidental overdose and to decreasing the stigma those with addiction face.
Below, I both list the new bags I have found each week (I started this part in October), and the most prevalent bag or bags of the week. I also have categorized the bags by category. I recognize it is a bit of a strange hobby, but I have learned a great deal in my search, plus getting out of the ambulance and walking is good for my health.
To see the entire collection, go to this link:
Note:
While I continue to collect bags, I have stopped the weekly posts due to time and difficulty saving such a full file.
Week of July 30, 2017
Most Seen
Liz (Lizard), Space Jam, Hype
New:
Also Seen: Summertime, Call of Duty, Lifesavers, Blue Devil, JFK, reaper, check plus(green), wildcat, Diessel, Hype,, Bugs, Killer Season, EZ Pass, Smurf
Week of July 23, 2017
New:
Most Seen: Hype, Space Jam
Also Seen: ShakaZulu, Summertime, Sweetheart, Blue Devil, One to Go, Lifesaver
Week of July 16, 2017
New:
Lucky 7,
Most Seen:
Green Dragon, Hype
Also Seen: Reaper, Lifesaver, Froggy, Snapchat, Zaz-Boy, Space Jam, Summertime, Sweet Heart, Blue Devil
Sweet
Week of July 9, 2017
Most seen:
Snapchat, Foxy,
Also Seen: JFK, summertime, butterfly, shine, smily face. green dragon, devil face
Week of July 2, 2017
Most seen:
Shine
New:
Week of June 26, 2017
Most seen:
Diessel, check in box, Foxy, snapchat
Also Seen:
Chinese, Reaper
Week of June 18, 2017
Most Seen: Snap Chap, Nick at night
Also Seen: Life savers, spade, Ducatti, Killer Instinct
Week of June 11, 2007
Most seen: Headphones, Focus
Also seen: Tunnel Vision, dead Men, Ducatti, check plus
Week of June 4, 2007
Also seen, Snapchat, howl, call of duty, fasttrack, Kiss Me, focus, Power, Bucatti, spider Web, versace, headphones. Hello Kitty, OMG
Week of May 28, 2017
Most seen: Snapchat, Howl
Also seen: Deisel, Eagle, Call of Duty, Kong, fastrack, versace, Laz Boy, Louis Vutton, Mojo, Bugs Bunny, Life Saver, Tunnel Vision, Focus, spider web, pirates
Week of May 21, 2017
Seen: Kong, Howl, Fasttrack, Versace, Eagle, Laz Boy, Call of Duty, Mojo, Louis Vutton,
Week of May 14, 2014
Most seen: Howl, Kong
New Week of May 7, 2017
Most seen:
Pirates, Howl, Power
Also seen:
Foxy, Mojo, Eagle, Black Devil, Scorpion, Hello Kitty, Newport, Power Punch
New Week of April 30, 2017
Dino, Bid Doodle, Lamborgini, The Hulk, Hello Kitty, LZ-Boy, Take Over, Power, Latin Power
Most seen:
Indian Chief, Howl, Pirates, Power, Scorpion
Also Seen:
A+, check mark, blue dot, space jam, bugs bunny, versace, biohazard, amazing, Newport, Call of Duty
New Week of April 23, 2017
Most Seen:
Pirates, Horsepower, Bugs Bunny, Kong
Also Seen:
Reaper, Hype, Indian Chief, Biohazard, Mojo, Scorpion, Casino, Check Mark, Amazing, Blow, reaper, smurfs,
New Week of April 16, 2017
Most Seen:
Casino, Eagle, Mojo, The Reaper
Also Seen: Top Gun. Back Devil, Hype, Pirates
New Week of April 9, 2017
Also seen, Hype, Reaper, Space jam
New Week of April 2, 2017
New Week of March 26, 2017
Also seen; Pirates, Best Buy, Foxy, Horsepower, Race Track
New Week of March 19, 2017
Most seen
Also seen:
Casino, Black Devil, Foxy, King, Fast Track, Hall Pass, Best Buy, Scorpion
New Week of March 5, 2017
Lift Up, Mind Eraser, sweet Heat, Crunch Time, Sniper, Blue Dot, G.O.A.T., JFK. Best Buy
Most Seen
Also Seen: Guns, Fast Track. Vamp, The Finals
New Week of February 26, 2017
Empire(new design), Guns
Most seen:
Also seen:Cobra, Diesel, Oliver Queen, Fast track, Vamp, Green Froggy
New Week of February 19, 2017
Power Punch, Fast Track (new font), Zika, Dead Men, Back Off. Love TV, Pound 4 Pound, The Finals (white Bag), Nike
Most Seen:
Also seen: The King, Black Devil, Chosen Few, Cobra, Horsepower, Sin City, Wildcat
New Week of February 5, 2017
Space Jam, Mojo, W-2, Sin City, ?Arizona. Oliver Queen
Most Seen
Week of January 29, 2017
Most Seen:
New Week of January 22, 2017
Horse Lover, Venom, True Religion, Mr. Bill, ?HT, Fury
Most seen – Green is Good, New World, New Arrival
New week of January 15,2017
Sky the Limit, Bad Boy, Good 4 You, Five Star Black, Versace, Hall Pass, Universe, FAXED, Pirates, present (green), Black devil, Magic City, Holiday season, Miami, Super Bowl, Foxy, Mind Eraser, Need for Speed, EZ-Pass, Casino, Call of Dury(new design)
Most Seen:
New week of January 8, 2017
I only worked two days and due to the snow found nothing new. I did see a lot of The Finals.
New Week of January 1, 2017
(Star Wars, Friday the 13th, EMPIRE (slanted), Mine Craft, blue apple?, The Finals, Black Rose, Posted, 2017, Star Wars (yellow), Red?, Power grip, Space Jam, 4 Way )
Most seen – KD, Green is Good
New week of December 25 (Only worked one day)
(Hot Sauce, P.R. V – see Urban Dictionary –PRV)
Saw lots of the preprinted bags this week, including
Also saw lots of:
New week of December 18,2016 (again weather was rough)
Faces, Passion, Skittles
New Week of December 11, 2016 (weather hindered the hunt)
New Week of December 4, 2016
New Week of November 27, 2016
Week also saw a return of: Night Owl, as well as lots of the following (KD, Helmet)
New week of November 20, 2016
New week of November 13, 2016
New week of November 5, 2016
New Week of October 30 (Bag may be old, but first time I have seen it.)
New week of October 23- (Bag may be old, but first time I have seen it.)
Bundle (10 Bags with a rubber band around them)
We found this on the ground. Â The bags were empty. Â It looks like someone tried to rip someone else off.
