What would you do?

[Dragon324 16]

Hypothetically if this happened to me/ I knew about it.

 

Ok so I don't know how many of you are familiar with United States Laws so I'm going to kind of briefly go over it right after I discuss the situation.

 

Ok so my idiot cousin decided that when my mom went to go pick him up for work that he would be high. She also said that his friend at that house was high too. It also has been suspected that my aunt that is living with me is buying and using marijuana which is what this is all about.

 

For those of you who don't know marijuana is a schedule 1 drug. What does that mean well it means one that it is illegal and have no accepted medical purposes, and can pose safety issues. However the only thing that makes this drug illegal is THC in marijuana (more info here http://www.nida.nih..../marijuana.html). The side effects are also not that bad as far as a potential to hurt others.

 

On the other hand as some of you know I'm studying to be a Criminal Justice Major currently. While I dont much mind that there smoking this crap this could look bad for me and potentially get me and my parents in trouble. It also could have other unforeseen side effects. Don't get me wrong though I would love to have the cops bust their asses and teach them a lesson. But there are negative sides to turning them in.

 

For one they probably would not be to happy with me. Secondly a 1st drug offense usually amounts to about a year or two unless they get probation. Third I dont know how others would feel about me turning them in.

 

So what should I do? Turn them in so nothing bad happens to myself or parents and so some drugs and buyers would be off the street. Don't turn them in and maybe get in trouble with the law myself. I hate these decisions.

 

As of right now I'm leaning more toward turning them in which I would probably do tomorrow while I'm out on my own.

 

I really feel uncomfortable knowing my family is breaking the law and tbh I wish my mom would stop telling me these things xD.

Edited December 21, 2011 by Dragon324

[Bob423 52]

i would say turn them in, but do what you think is right. there have been problems with drugs on our street, and they had a swat team or something there. it was scary, because they werent letting anyone into the neighborhood.

but the guy they were trying to bust had done some weird things, and was terrorizing other people around their house, luckily away from ours. one of my statuses explains the whole thing. anywho, yea it doesnt look like that will happen to you if you do. do what you think is right though.

[Marked 197]

If it were me, I wouldn't turn them in. You don't turn your family in for something like that. I'd move out if my adult familiy members were doing it. I dont think highly of pot smokers (no offense to those of you who do). Plenty of my extended family do, but I don't care much for them anyway.

[Dragon324 16]

If it were me, I wouldn't turn them in. You don't turn your family in for something like that. I'd move out if my adult familiy members were doing it. I dont think highly of pot smokers (no offense to those of you who do). Plenty of my extended family do, but I don't care much for them anyway.

But why not? Breaking the law is breaking the law :P. Would it change your opinion if I told you the aunt has been staying at my place for almost 6 years and never bothers 2 help with anything but bitches if the internet goes off. I'm just curious why you wouldn't.

 

Btw just to cover myself from any laws/ what not I'm claiming this as a hypothetical situation which I'm a add to the main post.

[kellessdee 48]

Breaking the law may be breaking the law...and if you use society's morals as a basis, then turning them in would be the right thing to do.

 

However, your morals don't necessarily follow society's morals. I can tell, that you don't really have TOO much of a problem with the marijuana/usage, or at least is seems, you are more worried about how it could affect your life. I understand that, but you need to ask yourself then:

"How would I feel if I put my family in jail?"

I'm not trying to be harsh, but remember YOU have to live with your decisions, so I think you should be completely sure of what you want to do, before doing it.

It's unfortunate you have to be put in this situation, and I wish you luck with your decision.

 

If you wanted to know what I would do, I would not turn them in. To me, as long as you aren't hurting those around you, you should have the right to do whatever you want to your own body (including, putting whatever you want in it). Also, in my eyes, marijuana is the least harmful of recreational drugs (including alcohol), so to me, there's no ESSENTIAL difference between drinking booze, smoking pot, snorting cocaine, injecting heroin, etc. Sure, the dangers vary and the reactions vary, but at the very essence of it all, the user is simply trying to get high. They're all drugs.

 

Of course, then again, Canada has much more laid-back drug policies... So you could move in with me and then you don't have to worry anyways! :D

[Marked 197]

But why not? Breaking the law is breaking the law . Would it change your opinion if I told you the aunt has been staying at my place for almost 6 years and never bothers 2 help with anything but bitches if the internet goes off. I'm just curious why you wouldn't.

It wouldnt. Because I believe in loyalty to your blood, but only to immediate family, I'm not sure what my opinion would be on an Aunt because I don't have contact with any family outside my immediate family. But I think I would still not call the Police on an Aunt, even if I didn't like her and she was doing something that was illegal and that I did not like, purely because of the fact she is family.

 

. To me, as long as you aren't hurting those around you, you should have the right to do whatever you want to your own body (including, putting whatever you want in it).

Or hurting yourself, or a risk of hurting others. I learned some of the reasoning behind criminal laws, but totally dont remember. I have magical cramming abilities.

[kellessdee 48]

Or hurting yourself, or a risk of hurting others. I learned some of the reasoning behind criminal laws, but totally dont remember. I have magical cramming abilities.

 

I don't mean to derail Dragon's thread here, but I never understood the reasoning behind drug laws. If it's really to protect us, then why is alcohol, cigarettes, coffee, etc legal? These drugs are far more addictive and harmful than most illegal drugs.

 

I have been around many a sketchbag, and have been around people on various sorts of drugs. Now, while I'm not claiming this cannot happen with heavy drug users, I find it interesting that the only time I've ever seen someone pull a knife on anyone else, was when my girlfriend (at the time)'s alcoholic father pulled a knife...while he was drunk...on his own son.

 

Nothing bad came of it (thankfully), as once he realized what he was doing, he dropped the knife and calmed down a bit...

 

So I don't really get it.

 

Anyways, sorry to drop off topic there Dragon....

 

I agree with mark, but on a greater scale. I would not be able to call the police, and potentially put them in jail/ruin their life, on ANYONE, if they have not harmed/ruined anyone else's life. I just don't have it in me, I would not be able to live with the guilt.

[Dragon324 16]

Your ok kell and even though I'm reading this at the time I feel like passing out I'll try to keep my head straight here lol.

 

@kell: 1st of all I agree that other substances such as alcohol are potentially a lot more dangerous. Here in the U.S we tried to ban alcohol I believe around the 1930's known as Prohibition. However this just made things a lot worse. For one bootleggers as they were called were making a ridiculous amount of money off of it and a lot of people were upset with the government. This has also led to the reason why were are potentially looking at legalizing marijuana (which they would hurry up then I would have no worries).

 

As far as bad stuff I've heard rumors of knifes being pulled and of guns being shot near proximity to a residents. The knife was a marijuana instance and the guns were alcohol related.

@ Marked: Ok I was just kind of curious were you stood on that. Personally I think I would just because its still against the rules and the way I see it they put themselves in jail for doing the illegal activity anyway its only a matter of time before they are caught. However I hold it to a lower standard than distributing.

 

Also your right we learn that the point of the police is to prevent someone from doing harm to themselves or others. I'm pretty sure we all agree that marijuana will not hurt anyone else but the user. Why we should give a crap about someones own health? Idk I agree to a point that it shouldn't matter as long as they r only hurting themselves but only if they are sane capable human beings.

 

@ Kell again: While you are right our morals dont necessarily mean the same as society's. However I assure you that I would feel very little guilt just because of my Aunt's general outlook towards life. She always claims she is the victim or w/e and they everyone else is the bad guy. While yes I do want to make sure there are no repercussions to myself I also would like to teach her a lesson that she is not special and can get away with breaking society's rules.

 

You know I would if I had the money lol :P.

 

My hypothetical decision: So after looking at this as what would I do or say if it was not family involved, and I did not know the case. To me at this point I have no physical evidence to support that either are using marijuana. Therefore as far as I'm concerned its just a case of "he said she said" which is not enough to prosecute someone in a court of law. Therefore I have decided that I will not peruse this any further.

However I will tell my Aunt when I see her again that idk and idc if she is using marijuana, but if her or her kid is smart enough to let me see any of it, smell any of it, or let me catch them while they are high on god knows what then there will be hell to pay.

 

However you all can continue to discuss this matter its kind of interesting as a Criminal Justice student to hear responses from others on legal matters.