For The Dial, Ariel Delgado Dixon recalls her time spent in what she calls The Service, an exclusive underground marijuana operation that ran in New York City. Dixon spent her time walking the Boss’s dog, a “barrel-chested mutt” called Scarface who had a penchant for pooping in the middle of traffic. Here, she recounts the Boss’s larger-than-life presence as a weed kingpin.

Ray hoped Kerry’s pedigree from the Pastry School International would sprinkle some refinement into the magic cookie market. She perfected recipes like peanut butter miso cookies, lime and sage shortbread, and macarons of many colors, with fillings like plum and shiso jam.

Ray took an instant liking to Kerry, who tends to have this effect on men. Her particular voodoo of irreverence, tenderness, and boobs have always proved magnetic. After a few months working together, Ray announced it was time for Kerry’s first side mission.

Kerry was to take a cab to Times Square toting two trash bags full of distillate jars. Distillate—or “liquid gold”—is a potent, amber-hued weed extract used in baking or in vapes. Kerry was to stand against a wall and wait for someone to retrieve the bags, and if they weren’t retrieved within two minutes, she was to get back in the cab and return to Queens. For this, Ray would pay her $100 each way, plus her regular $80 per hour rate. Kerry was smart enough not to ask questions. It worked out exactly as Ray said it would.

More picks about weed

Purple Haze

Sean Williams | Harper’s Magazine | September 18, 2023 | 6,343 words

“Cannabis returns to Kathmandu.”

The Last Great Weed Smuggler

Jack Crosbie | Rolling Stone | March 17, 2026 | 5,700 words

“Before the cartels took over, Harvey Prager built a life on millions of dollars of drug money. One prosecutor called Prager ‘the last of the great amateurs.’ This is his story.”