$10 Bill, or drug paraphernalia???

I think there is cocaine in my wallet!

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Now wait a minute...hear me out before you decide not to read this post...

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Last night, my MAGNIFICENT Volleyball team played 4 games, and we won ALL 4! (Man, we were good!) After the matches, we went for drinks and food at the great establishment that sponsors our team, Fat Cat, in the Uptown neighborhood here in Chicago.

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---Side note: Fat Cat has a mouth-watering Buffalo Chicken Sandwich. YUM!---

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Anyway...

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I decided to leave a little earlier than some of the others because I am running the 13.1 marathon tomorrow morning, and I am easily tempted by "the drink" if I am around others who are drinking as well.

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So, I walked just down the street to catch the bus home. Now, Uptown is a neighborhood in transition...It is starting to develop, however, it is a neighborhood that in the past has been known for theft, robberies, MURDERS, etc...

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I am standing there waiting for the bus to arrive, in front of the legendary Green Mill Lounge, when a cute couple come stumbling out the front door. Walking past me, I noticed that the male threw something on the ground; not dropped unknowingly...but purposely let go of it from his hand.

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I looked closer. It was a rolled up $10 bill.

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Now, 10 dollars isn't an extravagant amount of money, but it is significant enough for someone to probably not want to let go of, right?

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So, I said, "Sir, you dropped some money."

He looked at me...looked down at the money on the ground...looked back at me...mumbled something that i couldn't make out...and then started walking away.

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Now, i know there are some people in the Uptown neighborhood who come across as a little...WEIRD...so i thought maybe he was a little out of his mind, or drunk...i dont know...

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Well, if he doesn't want it, I DO!

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I mean...it's ten extra dollars! I could treat myself to some delicious Cold Stone Creamery with that!

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So, i picked it up. I didn't put it in my wallet right away (because I didn't want to take my wallet out and expose it in this particular 'hood). The edges were curled in, as if the bill had been tightly rolled up...and we ALL know what that means!

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He used this $10 bill as a way to snort some nose candy, didn't he?

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Sure enough, there were little pieces of white residue left on it. What an AMATEUR! I mean...a real 'blow' pro would've licked the bill clean, right?!?!

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Well, i got on the bus, stuck the money in my wallet...and disposed of it today by purchasing this coffee that i am drinking right now here in the coffee shop!

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But it made me think...

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How much of our money is drug-tainted already, and we just have no idea? Well, i did a little searching with 'the Googles', and discovered that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration did a study in 1985 that found that a third to nearly a half of all currency tested had traces of cocaine.

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Further, the Argonne National Laboratory did a study in 1997, discovering that 4 out of 5 bills in the Chicago suburbs were contaminated by the drug.

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I'd say that's a lot!

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At least more than i imagined. A single bill used to snort cocaine can spread to an entire cash drawer, so i guess the rest of the money in my wallet was exposed to the drug...along with everything else in there.

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So my Blockbuster video card is now a druggie! And my library card. AND my Argo Tea frequent user Club card. Ugh...

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Oh well...

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I guess i handle Cocaine daily then. It is probably on my hands right now.

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That MUST be the reason why I am having trouble sleeping lately...