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Brooklyn Pot Dealer Donates Proceeds to Hurricane Sandy Victims

On the condition of anonymity, a marijuana dealer in Brooklyn, New York spoke with HuffPost Crime about donating half of his profits to the victims of Hurricane Sandy. The dealer made it known that he was not worried about being disciplined for taking his drug money and using it for supplies for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. He was able to donate $700.

“Look, there are probably some people down there [in the Rockaways] who want some marijuana — but that’s not going to clothe and feed them,” he said. “So in order for me to help, I needed to turn what I do into something concrete that I could give to them.”

The dealer, who has a college education, viewed the destruction along Breezy Point, where 80 homes flooded and burned to the ground, and decided that he needed to take action and help in some way possible. He told his buyers that that he was going to be donating proceeds to the victims and he said that the calls began pouring in.

The dealer claims that he pulled down $1,400 in two days, with $700 of that going to the victims on the Rockaway Peninsula who need water, diapers, baby formula, hot meals and other supplies. He has already purchased 50 wool blankets for people who do not have power back yet.

“Yes, I made a little extra money for myself those two days,” he told HuffPost Crime. “But [my clients] are getting something they’d already get anyway. I was going to work regardless, and now I felt like I was doing it with purpose … I’m not doing what I do in order to get rich or create some super marijuana empire. I’m trying to help, and this is my job.”

When the dealer is not selling marijuana, he has been volunteering his time transporting goods to those who desperately need items in Brooklyn and Queens as a result of the storm.

Jim Vassallo: Jim is a freelance writer based out of the suburbs of Philadelphia in New Jersey. Jim earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and minor in Journalism from Rowan University in 2008. While in school he was the Assistant Sports Director at WGLS for two years and the Sports Director for one year. He also covered the football, baseball, softball and both basketball teams for the school newspaper 'The Whit.' Jim lives in New Jersey with his wife Nicole, son Tony and dog Phoebe.

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