GATEWAY
During the teenage years many young kids do their best to survive the temptation of drug use. Due to curiosity and peer pressure many of our youth lose the battle and begin their habits with the gateway drug of cigarettes. In Huntington Beach, California during the 70s, a young brotherhood of five (four boys and one girl) long-haired skateboarders were living the beach life of experimentation and free living. They occasionally ditched school to go to the beach to drink canned beer, smoke cigarettes, and use marijuana. They became acquaintances of a group of old Cuban men that would invite them over to their beach house to play cards and party. One day the brotherhood arrives to the beach house to buy a bag of reefer and explains to them that they are planning a road trip up north to Humboldt to score some of the summer harvest. The Cuban men stop their card game since they are interested in buying a large amount. One of the brothers sits down and starts discussing business. They come up with an agreement as all the brothers join in on the card game.
A few weeks later the brothers load their belongings in their microbus VW van and head up the coast. In Humboldt the brotherhood is escorted to a mountain forest cabin with high security. Only one of the brothers is allowed in the compound to buy product. Inside there are rooms filled with indoor growing systems and couples having sex. The lone brother is met by a polite, but paranoid drug dealer who offers him a cold beer in a glass. They sit down as the drug dealer begins to interrogate the brother asking him specific questions about why he is buying, who he is buying for, etc… The brother confidently answers all the questions as the pounds of marijuana are presented. The brother gives the drug dealer the cash as they both sample the product by sharing the pipe. They shake hands creating the beginning of a buyer- seller relationship. The brotherhood leaves the compound and treks back down south. Back home at the beach house a huge party, is prepared as the brotherhood greets their Cuban comrades with some delicious presents.
Ten years later the brotherhood is at a posh Hollywood Columbian cocaine party. All of them are drinking and doing big lines of coke together. Their appearances have definitely changed since their innocent youthful days at the beach. One of them is a heroin-addicted-beach bum, another a teacher, a real estate agent, a struggling actor, and the female is an artist. The real estate agent lives in La Jolla, California along with the beach bum and artist. He decides to invite the whole brotherhood to his house for a barbeque. At his beach house they all enjoy some juicy steaks and party with cocktails and cocaine. All of them still smoke cigarettes accompanied by mean coughs. The artist and struggling actor leave the house as some local young surfers arrive to buy some drugs. Immediately following their departure, the police arrive for a bust. All three of the men are arrested. The female artist gathers up some funds and bails them out. There are brief court appearances as the beach bum takes the biggest rap due to some prior convictions and current parole. The brotherhood loses its foundation due to the legal conflict. A few years later the brotherhood reunites at a sober gathering as the beach bum arrives drunk and high. The real estate agent and he get into an argument that results into an ugly brawl. A late-night smoking discussion with the remaining four occurs as they decide to go check up on the beach bum who is parked down the street. In his needle-infested van the beach bum is unconscious and not breathing. The paramedics are called and resuscitate the beach bum back to life. The brotherhood is re-established after the life/death situation. They all stroll on the beach recollecting on the good ol’ days of junior high school when their only worries was how to tell their parents where they were going or what they were doing. Times have changed, but they will always remember each other and the beginning of their lives as a bonding brotherhood.
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