Having A Debate With Some Friends

[Maritime Q-Scout]

A friend of friends of mine (yeah I know that's how every made up story starts, but this is true I swear) got pulled over last week. Turns out he had $25,000 worth of marijuana and LSD in his car.

Now the debate I've been having is, the folks that don't know the guy (myself being one) are arguing that he should be going to jail. Transporting $25K of illegal narcotics is enough for me to say "off to federal penitentiary you go". However those that do know the guy are arguing that he's a good guy that got mixed up in a bad situation, all stemming from a bad breakup with his ex-girlfriend. Apparently he took a real downward spiral, and fell in with the wrong crowd. Now after getting caught with $25K worth of drugs, he has apparently cut ties with the crowd he was hanging out with, and stopped using altogether. The argument is being made that because he's a good guy and this is uncharacteristic he shouldn't have the black mark on him as being a drug dealer, nor should he be serving federal time. A stern warning would be enough to straighten him out (I don't know him, but from all accounts he already has been scared straight, and for the sake of argument I'll accept that).

There is also an argument being made that "weed shouldn't be illegal anyway, so really he hasn't done anything that wrong, why should he be lumped in with drug dealer, and murderers when most people have smoked it anyway."

I can't get past the $25,000 worth of illegal narcotics. Bad crowd, poor decision, or no, I say to prison you go. You do the crime you do the time. Should it be as harsh on first offence with a clean record? No, but still time regardless.

I don't have all the facts and figures. I don't know the guy in question. However I just wanted to know if I"m completely looney for thinking that he should be doing time, period.

It seems people that know him defend him, people that don't are following closer to the letter of the law. As well there's the, marijuana isn't really bad and shouldn't be illegal so what's the big deal argument too.

[foofighter15]

Its a tough call, but if you get into allowing character to mean something in court it could cause some major issues. So I hate to say it (because I'm against wasting space in jail on drug charges) but he needs to go.
While there however, if the warden saw fit for parole thats fine

[llama64]

Well... he violated defined laws. Why should he get any leniency for being a "good guy"?

And last I checked, marijuana is still illegal to transport like that, so just because people believe it should be legalized doesn't make it any less illegal.

Justice is supposed to be blind and indifferent. If we make concessions because the perpetrator is really a "nice guy", do we start cheapening the system as a whole?

You aren't looney for thinking he should do time. But really, he should receive the defined penalty for his actions, whether that's jail time or not.

[MoneyGuy]

I'm sure that everyone who gets caught with 25K of stuff argues that it wasn't for trafficing and I'm a good person so let me go and I'll never be bad again. I have no sympathy. He deserves what he gets. Sorry, but he needs to make better decisions.

[HOOT]

If he was transporting $25K worth of drugs for someone then I would be more worried about his safety in jail. I would assume someone who has connection to that kind of dope would also have connection in jail.

I am assuming this happened in Canada? If so he will have a better chance of getting off with parole or doing 2-3 years which really isn't that bad considering 1/4 ounce of weed in FLorida will get you 10 years.

I personnaly got busted with a quarter pound of weed (not the same as $25K but...) from the Vnacouver PD and all they did was take it away and send me on my way. Believe it or not $25K really isn't that much considering because they are considering that "street value" and anyone with that much drugs would not be selling it at street value...

Crazy stuff, first off I hope he can get his life back on track and as bad as it sounds a few years in jail might help him do that. I have a friend who is in jail for attempted murder and it has changed his life for the better in so many ways. Its scary to think where he would be right now...probably dead!

[blankall]

Normally in these kind of cases there is a large gap in time between when he is arrested and when he is sentenced. This will give him a chance to demonstrate that he actually is a good guy. The fact that this is his first offence will also be big. That being said, there are a lot of people who commit serious crimes who can act like nice guys. This guy broke the law in a fairly major way. 25000 is a totally different story than just havign a small amount for personal use. Yes people argue that marijuana should be legalized, but these arguments are directed more at small time users than traffickers.

If he is traficking these kind of drugs there is a very good chance he was getting paid handsomly for it. Regardless of how nice a guy you are if you want fast money and take massive risks like this, you have to be prepared to face the consequences.

[jammies]

If he has no previous record/arrests, he might just get off with a suspended/reduced sentence. On the other hand, if he has been in trouble with the law before, the judge won't take his protestations of future good behaviour seriously. As far as I'm concerned, that is absolutely the correct way it should be.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Everyone is a good guy to someone. To the rest of the world, he's a drug dealer. Anyone moving that much drugs knows exactly what they're getting into and where it can lead. He may be a good guy, but evidently he's also a dumb guy, so bye bye.

[Dan02]

I can't make a decision in this one, to me leiniency should only be granted to those first time offenders who've had something happen to them which led them to the wrong crowd as you describe happened to your friend. So basically if he's had a clean record so far in his life i would lean towards letting him off the hook a bit. If he's has a record though, I'd throw the book at him.

[Bill Bumface]

I agree with people that say you get let off easy on first time offenses, and that's the way it should be. If he's the kind of guy that is going to reform (if he's scared straight from the whole thing as you say) going to jail is the wrong thing and could quickly throw him back in with the wrong crowd.

[BlackArcher101]

He may be a nice guy, but he had ton's of opportunity to drop it and do something different. My thoughts would be different if he had $150 of pot on him, but since he had $25,000 it's pretty clear he was doing to deal it. Friends may influence you to try the drugs, but in the end it's your own decision to sell it. Tough ****, off to jail he goes.

[Salt Water Cowboy #10]

marijuana - not such a big deal (as far as drug possesion goes) and could get off with a fine and probation, or very short jail stint.

LSD - may as well be packing cocaine. It is a mind altering chemical that the justice system looks down upon. This may cause him some problems in court.

[Temporary_User]

$25,000 worth of drugs. You mention pot and LSD... I know you don't know all of the facts, but how much he had of each really plays a role in my thoughts.
As HOOT mentioned, this is the "street value" so if it was all pot, would probably be less than 5lbs (not sure on the exact amount). I know that law enforcement likes to use these street values when mentioning how big their bust is/was so to the public eye it makes the "criminal" seem that much worse, as well as how well of a job they're doing.
Really though, this guy was obviously in with "the wrong crowd" for quite a while, because for him to have the clientele to get rid of this much pot in a relatively quick timeframe is really saying alot.
I would say this guy probably is a good guy, but he did know the risk and unfortunately probably thought he would never get caught. I wish it wasnt the way it is, but he probably will have to do some jail time.

[HOOT]

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

$25,000 worth of drugs. You mention pot and LSD... I know you don't know all of the facts, but how much he had of each really plays a role in my thoughts.
As HOOT mentioned, this is the "street value" so if it was all pot, would probably be less than 5lbs (not sure on the exact amount). I know that law enforcement likes to use these street values when mentioning how big their bust is/was so to the public eye it makes the "criminal" seem that much worse, as well as how well of a job they're doing.
Really though, this guy was obviously in with "the wrong crowd" for quite a while, because for him to have the clientele to get rid of this much pot in a relatively quick timeframe is really saying alot.
I would say this guy probably is a good guy, but he did know the risk and unfortunately probably thought he would never get caught. I wish it wasnt the way it is, but he probably will have to do some jail time.

Ya it would probably be somewhere around 7-8lbs if it was just pot. That is considering the police use the same $3300/lb like they do out here which is about $1300-1600 more than what you would pay if you were to actually buy it by the pound.

THe amount of time would also depend on how much he had of each. Like was he just tranporting pot and had some person use LCD on him, or was he transporting the LCD and had some person use weed on him. That would make a HUGE difference on the type of punishment he will get.

[fredr123]

That you guys are so know so much about the actual cost to purchase large quantities of marijuana suggests you throw way better parties than me.

[burn_this_city]

I knew Hoot's name had a higher meaning

I agree that if hes a first time offender some leniency should be applied, but the LSD factor definately complicates his situation..

Going back to how the cops report quantity or dollar value. I often wonder when they bust grow ops if they are weighing the entire plant including the soil it was planted in.. Cause honestly no one becomes a millionaire with a grow op in their basement.. All these reported $400,000 and $500,000 busts are often no more than $50-100,000 on the street..

[MarchHare]

Hi, I'm the resident CP bleeding-heart liberal.

Throw his fool ass in jail. He was transporting large quantities of an illegal substance for the purpose of trafficking.

Now, I happen to agree with the people who think marijuana should be legal, controlled, and taxed (just like alcohol and tobacco), but that shouldn't even be part of this debate, since it's not legal at the moment. He broke the law, period. If he had been busted possessing a lesser quantity (suitable for individual use or at most a small party), sure I'd think he would have a case for leniency, but not for that amount.

Just because he's "a good guy" and this was his first offense doesn't exonerate him of his crimes. I'm sure the judge will take his personal situation into consideration when sentencing him.

[worth]

Personally I really don't think any drug should be illegal. And this is coming from someone who doesn't like to take advil for a headache. But right now, it is illegal, so you do the time. Pretty simple in my mind.

I don't buy the jus got mixed up and his life spiraled downward and all he needs is a slap on the wrist and he's good to go. To me that's BS. You do something illegal and get caught, you pay the penalty. Simple.

[CaptainCrunch]

His character witnesses will probably save him some time in prison.

When someone is carrying that much stuff, then I have problems with the whole he fell in with the wrong crowed argument, and to me it doesn't matter.

Frankly, to me the majority of those drugs are going to end up going to kids and thats my problem with drug dealers. They sell to everyone, kids, the truly desparate, the people that are slowly dying from their addiction. To me drug dealers are parasites, and people that willingly help them are parasites. the sad thing about your friend, and if I believe his or your story is that he's being used by whoever is dealing.

Your friend would be wise to see if he can cut a deal and help the police to get the person who wants those drugs.

But off to jail, and for me, hopefully its a lengthy sentence.

Lucky he wasn't caught in the U.S. or china because in the U.S. he'd be looking at significant time. In China, he'd be looking at a bullet and a bill for his family. In Canada, he'll probably get less then a year in a cottage prison.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by worth

Personally I really don't think any drug should be illegal. And this is coming from someone who doesn't like to take advil for a headache. But right now, it is illegal, so you do the time. Pretty simple in my mind.

Honestly I'm fine if grass was legalized if it was treated like an intoxicant, in otherwords smoking and driving, bad. Public intoxication bad.

But I can't get my head around legalizing some of the more notorious drugs. There's no way that coke should be legalized or speed or crystal meth, or heroin or the others.

I don't buy the jus got mixed up and his life spiraled downward and all he needs is a slap on the wrist and he's good to go. To me that's BS. You do something illegal and get caught, you pay the penalty. Simple.

I completely agree, it sounds like this wasn't a matter of downward spiral, or that he's a good guy. This sounds like either a matter of profit in that he's getting paid to transport, or he was planning on selling it, or he had a friend who's a dealer thats giving him free merchandise.

I'd be more sympathetic if he was arrested for smoking the stuff.