# Define "open air drug market," please. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 21, 2005, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/define-open-air-drug-market-please/304907 "2005-05-21T23:46:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/define-open-air-drug-market-please/304907/21 "2005-05-23T05:25:41Z")
Oh, shit, **Tris.** My high school was a crack house. ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/define-open-air-drug-market-please/304907/22 "2005-05-23T05:45:05Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > Oh, shit, **Tris.** My high school was a crack house. Evidently the owner/residents met my criteria. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/define-open-air-drug-market-please/304907/23 "2005-05-23T12:35:46Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > “Suss” is used in that sense quite frequently around here. I don’t think it’s an Australianism. That’s good to know. I didn’t really think it was. I try to be as international as I can (within limits) around here, but I still get caught out sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/define-open-air-drug-market-please/304907/24 "2005-05-23T16:08:56Z")
> [@Reeder](#): > > “Suss out”? … > [@Rod Stewart](#): > > Me and the boys thought we had it sussed > Valentinos all of us > My dad said we looked ridiculous > But boy we broke some hearts ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/define-open-air-drug-market-please/304907/25 "2005-05-23T16:36:51Z")
Around here. . . An **open air drug market** is usually a corner, or section of a street where a person can drive up or walk up and buy drugs from a dealer. The dealers typically have a system that protects the guy taking the money from the stash itself. I think that’s to get around certain laws (instead of “trafficking”, one guy might get “possession” since he didn’t actually take money) and/or add another layer of confusion to the police surveillance. I’d give my money to Chase and Chase would signal Randolph who would then deliver the package to my car. The sheer audacity of such an arrangement seems to be particularly galling to the local officials. A **crackhouse** typically means an actual house where crack is sold. You go up to the crackhouse to buy some crack. Crack isn’t such a huge drug anymore and I don’t think you see crackhouses as much. Other ways to buy drugs would kind of be in the crackhouse model. You go to someone’s house who has various sorts of drugs. There is the delivery model too. I was at a friend’s house in NYC once, and we called an 800 number and a guy came by the house with a backpack with different kinds of marijuana and mushrooms in it. Anyway, that’s what I know from reading various Edward Burns and David Simon books, and just what I’ve picked up from living in Baltimore for 9 years and reading the “Baltimore Sun”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/define-open-air-drug-market-please/304907.md?page=1)