betfil Should I Report My Friends’ Cocaine Dealer?
I am a recent college graduate. Now that I live far away from where I went to school and having some time to look back, I think about the people I knew who used illicit substances (primarily cocaine) and wonder about the harm done by drug dealers. I’ve never used any drugs but being friends with some users, I know where their dealer lives. I never met him, but I heard a lot of things about him. Some of these were wholesome: He has a young kid, a nice girlfriend, enjoys cutting hair.
Some not so wholesome: He has large quantities of cocaine in his house and uses his work as a front. I’m considering whether I should report him to the police. I’m not wondering about whether informing the police about him would lead to prison (it would) or whether cocaine is bad, but whether making that call outweighs the detriment to his child who, seemingly in his custody, might end up in foster care. Should I inform the police? Or not do anything? Is there a middle ground? — Name Withheld
From the Ethicist:
Cocaine can do a lot of damage. In this country, where something like five million people are thought to be regular users, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has estimated that, in 2022, there were more than 400,000 cocaine-related emergency-room visits; the Centers for Disease Control has estimated that, in 2023, nearly 25,000 people died from overdoses involving cocaine. (Other dangers are connected to the fact that it is sometimes adulterated with other dangerous substances, such as fentanyl.) The powder can also be highly addictive, and regular users can easily run through their savings to maintain the habit.
Does all the blame fall on the dealers? You could reasonably think that they’re exploiting the vulnerabilities of addicts, but their customers — at least those who are not yet addicted — are choosing to use the drug. What about their responsibility? Without the users there would be no dealers.
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SKIP ADVERTISEMENTAnd the penalties for dealers can be severe. In a number of states, first-time offenders can be punished with prison sentences lasting years, even decades. If it’s determined that this fellow’s basement stash came from participation in interstate trafficking, he could also face strict federal penalties — a mandatory minimum of five years for first-time offenders who have more than 500 grams of cocaine and 10 years for those with five kilograms or more.
Follow The New York TimesFind us on Instagram for the best of our visual journalism and beyond.Join our WhatsApp Channel for breaking news, games, recipes and more.Connect with us on Facebook to get the best of The Times, right in your feed.So your friends’ dealer, if convicted, would probably be away from his child for a very long time. You could fairly say that this is on him: He decided to make a living by selling illegal drugs that contribute to serious harm. Still, if by reporting him, even via a quick, anonymous call, you set in motion an investigation that leads to his conviction, you would have a hand in his fate, too. Your aim may be to punish a wrongdoer, but you’ll want to think about how others in his life will be affected.
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