IN THE AIR TONIGHT

It's nine or so at night, you're walking your puppy, Noodles through Curtis Hixon - or just about any - park in downtown Tampa, and there it is.

In the air tonight, and every night in Tampa.

That sickening sweet and acrid aroma of the devil's brew, the concoction the' fashionable' druggie people sell and buy in increasing amounts in an effort to jazz up what can only be a demented mind especially if they've been using, i.e. snorting, smoking etc. for any length of time.

Which would not be too long as the average life expectancy of any spice or bath salt user is increasingly narrowing just as the ingestion grows and grows.

Call it the inverted math principle of abusing your mind and body so badly that eventually something's got to give, and it's usually sooner than later.

Ok, people use and abuse many other psychotropic substances, weed, cocaine, crack, meth, alcohol, hell even caffeine and nicotine if you want to get right down to it.

However, we are talking here about a drug which is cheaper than all of the above, probably easier to acquire, and in the short and long run, is most likely to wreak havoc in your body and mind.

It's easier to acquire because every 'jit' ( check Webster's under 'juvenile in training') are all over town selling the stuff.

The demand is bigger than ever, and growing.

The profits from the sale of spice are bigger than ever and growing.

You know that guy who is dishing out your food in the hospital cafeteria?  Well, just minutes ago on his break, he was out in the park having one of his many spice tokes of the day.

The bird-brain on the bike who just nearly nailed you to the sidewalk is smoking it as he rolls.

The cab driver who can't quite remember if he's taking you to the airport or the laundromat, well, his cab is reeking with the smell of the stuff and you probably just got a contact high just by clinbing into his vehicle.

That nut-case over in West Tampa who just tore apart the interior of a van with his bare hands, and who had to be restrained by five TPD uniforms and two passers-by, was smoking it all day and mixing it with alcohol.

Ohl and let us not forget the skate-boarders, the woman with the kid in the stroller, the banker who sneaks down to the park for his daily ration, or those three people on the park bench leaning back and looking like they've just been punched in the head.  . Like it or not, they are all part of the 'fashionable' spice using crowd.

Look around you, it's all over this city, and the merchants of death who sell the stuff are getting away with it.

They're getting away with it because people will not speak up.

Let's go back to you and walking your dog on a nice, balmy night, and enjoying the beautiful sights of outdoor downtown Tampa while Noodles is doing his business.

Take note of your surroundings, most likely the smoker and his dealer will be nearby.

They really can't get too far on foot for a little while after that first puff.

Here's some advice, if you value your family and yourself, and anybody you love who might get into the way of one of these people high on spice.....call the cops.

And keep calling them whenever and wherever you see this increasingly unholy business going on around in the air...whether or not it's day or night.

The life you could be saving could be your own, or your kid...or even Noodles.








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