Step-son selling marijuana

[Scott27526]

I am in NC. My wife and i have just discovered that her 18-yr-old son (my step-son) has been in possession of about a pound of marijuana (hidden in his room) and has admitted to her to selling it for profit. He may have been selling it out of our own home. Other than the three of us, the only other person living with us is our 11-yr-old son. She has (mistakenly in my opinion) returned the marijuana to him, telling him to dispose of it and to never bring any more back in the house, and has (for now) effectively kicked him out, though I am sure he'll be back. He has no other place to go to live in our area.

If the 18-yr-old were arrested by police on related charges (possession/selling) can my wife and I be charged with anything? Could that include Endangering a Child? What may he be charged with? If we call the police about it, can they charge us with related criminal offenses?

 

[Just Blue]

I am in NC. My wife and i have just discovered that her 18-yr-old son (my step-son) has been in possession of about a pound of marijuana (hidden in his room) and has admitted to her to selling it for profit. He may have been selling it out of our own home. Other than the three of us, the only other person living with us is our 11-yr-old son. She has (mistakenly in my opinion) returned the marijuana to him, telling him to dispose of it and to never bring any more back in the house, and has (for now) effectively kicked him out, though I am sure he'll be back. He has no other place to go to live in our area.

If the 18-yr-old were arrested by police on related charges (possession/selling) can my wife and I be charged with anything? Could that include Endangering a Child? What may he be charged with? If we call the police about it, can they charge us with related criminal offenses?

I think you could. Your wife should have flushed the dope down the toilet...What was her reasoning for giving it back to Jr.? By doing that she made herself complicit in what ever happens AFTER she gave it back.

I am sure one of the Attorneys will respond or Carl the Police officer...Stick around.

 

[KRuth]

I have a friend who has lots of experience counseling families, and we had a similar situation where our older son's drugs were in our house while we had a minor son living with us. My friend told me that if we know drugs are in our house, and the cops bust my son, we are liable for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, since it is in our house. I will say this. We went through hell while our son lived with us, and we finally told him either no drugs or get out. He is moved out with friends, and our lives are much more peaceful. I wish you the best of luck. Unfortunately, I found that they don't change until they get caught, and even then, sometimes they don't change. How old is your son?

 

[smutlydog]

I am in NC. My wife and i have just discovered that her 18-yr-old son (my step-son) has been in possession of about a pound of marijuana (hidden in his room) and has admitted to her to selling it for profit. He may have been selling it out of our own home. Other than the three of us, the only other person living with us is our 11-yr-old son. She has (mistakenly in my opinion) returned the marijuana to him, telling him to dispose of it and to never bring any more back in the house, and has (for now) effectively kicked him out, though I am sure he'll be back. He has no other place to go to live in our area.

If the 18-yr-old were arrested by police on related charges (possession/selling) can my wife and I be charged with anything? Could that include Endangering a Child? What may he be charged with? If we call the police about it, can they charge us with related criminal offenses?

As far as the law goes you are liable but it really depends on the policy of the DAs office and the police department. Where I live they would not charge the parents unless the police had a reason to believe that they were involved.

Here is something you may have not considered that is happens more often than people think. What if armed gang members wearing hoods enters your home in the middle of the night. They will most likely want drugs and drug money. This is a crime that rarely gets reported for obvious reasons.

 

[Scott27526]

Thanks...

Thanks for everyone's replies. The wife hasn't told me why she gave it back to Jr. but she probably wasnt thinking too straight. (This happened before I was even told of her discovery.) Part of her reasoning is likely that without it, Jr. faces some sort of nasty reprimand from whomever he got it from.

Since my post, I've confronted him with the information... he vaguely admitted to doing something wrong, but wouldn't divulge any specifics. I told him since he was treating me like someone he can't trust, I therefore do not trust him, and he will no longer be welcome to live in my house. So far... he's obliged. (There's a history of other dysfunction here (of course) I haven't described.) I'm trying to get my wife involved in finding another place for him to go, but he's quite immature and ****y as hell, so he's headed for some rough times I imagine, and she's hardly been very proactive.

I still haven't received a definitive answer as to what kinds of charges my wife and I might have faced if he had been caught while he was still here (felony or misdemeanor, etc), but I'm attempting to get some kind of legal counseling elsewhere.

Thanks again.

 

[positronix1022]

I still haven't received a definitive answer as to what kinds of charges my wife and I might have faced if he had been caught while he was still here (felony or misdemeanor, etc), but I'm attempting to get some kind of legal counseling elsewhere.

If your house was searched and the drugs found, then you could have been charged with possession or even conspiracy to distribute, if the police believe that you knew he was possessing or selling drugs.

My advice is: Don't allow anyone to purchase, possess or sell drugs on your property.