Miserable banditti: the pot-head outlaws of rural Greece

Abstract

The plan seemed simple enough. One car in the lead to scout for roadblocks, and the old van following behind carrying a kilo of pot. In the mountains of southern Greece, roadblocks are fairly common, especially at night. The blocks are carried out by special anti-narcotics police, the EKAM. Locals call them 'Cherokees' because of the distinctive black Jeeps they drive as well as the cowboys-and-Indians quality of their interdiction methods. Roadblocks often appear out of nowhere, a clutch of black Cherokees off the side of the road with a group of black-suited paramilitary police, often with black ski masks covering their faces. In areas of heavy drug trafficking, roadblocks are often backed by snipers positioned in the hills above the roadway, or in helicopters. Locals transporting pot generally travel in pairs, with a lead car for spotting roadblocks and warning those behind via cell phone. As a backup, the driver of the second car with the pot also carries a small bottle of gasoline. In the event he is pulled over, he is supposed to pour the gasoline in the car and ignite it, destroying the pot and the car. That way he can plead to a lesser charge and avoid jail time. None of the farmers I was with had known anyone who actually carried out this last-ditch defense, but they seemed confident it would work if needed. That night, fortunately, everything went smoothly. On the drive from the mountains, through the central plains, and onto the Aegean coast, there was no sign of the EKAM. We arrived a little after 4 a.m. and celebrated with a big three-paper spliff before retiring for a few hours sleep. The farmers I was with do this trip once or twice a year. Two of them, Petro and Taki, are truck farmers who sell produce at the Athens street markets. The other, Gianni, produces high-quality olive oil. Together they are the core of a group of 6-10 pot smokers who hang out together and exchange weed. In their village of around 450 residents, there are several such groups, usually divided by generations. Petro, Taki, and Gianni are in their early-40s