What's my legal responsibility re someone doing illegal drugs?

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

I recently found out that someone I consider a friend is doing cocaine.

This person is also (in part due to my reference) a tenant in a family member's house.

Now that I know this, I feel very torn between "it's not my business" and concern for my family member.

This morning I found out this person came to the house drunk or stoned out of his mind, apparently couldn't get in the house, and after about 30 minutes of his crazed behavior and feeling fearful, my family member called the police on him.

So - do I have an obligation to tell my family member I know this person is doing cocaine? Will the police likely figure it out? If my family member asks, should I tell her that I knew?

I'm concerned also for my own sitaution as I am dependent on this family member to have a place to stay.

TrillianToo said:

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

I recently found out that someone I consider a friend is doing cocaine.

This person is also (in part due to my reference) a tenant in a family member's house.

Now that I know this, I feel very torn between "it's not my business" and concern for my family member.

This morning I found out this person came to the house drunk or stoned out of his mind, apparently couldn't get in the house, and after about 30 minutes of his crazed behavior and feeling fearful, my family member called the police on him.

So - do I have an obligation to tell my family member I know this person is doing cocaine? Will the police likely figure it out? If my family member asks, should I tell her that I knew?

I'm concerned also for my own sitaution as I am dependent on this family member to have a place to stay.

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non-legal advice. i'd so rat that "friend" out.

TrillianToo said:

I recently found out that someone I consider a friend is doing cocaine.

This person is also (in part due to my reference) a tenant in a family member's house.

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The family member is at risk of criminal charges or, at best, getting embroiled in the roommate's activity.If the roomie pisses off dealers, the family member can get hurt ... if the police come, the family member can be arrested for a number of cahrges and MAYBE even convicted.

Now that I know this, I feel very torn between "it's not my business" and concern for my family member.

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If the family member does not care, chances are the friend is benefiting from the drug use (through money or through the use of the drugs ...or something else). Tell the family member you will not bail them out if the police bust them, and say you will pray they do not get hurt.

This morning I found out this person came to the house drunk or stoned out of his mind, apparently couldn't get in the house, and after about 30 minutes of his crazed behavior and feeling fearful, my family member called the police on him.

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And they are still roomies?

So - do I have an obligation to tell my family member I know this person is doing cocaine? Will the police likely figure it out? If my family member asks, should I tell her that I knew?

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Tell her what you know and let her make the call.

I'm concerned also for my own sitaution as I am dependent on this family member to have a place to stay.

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How would you telling the truth cause a change in your station?

Ask yourself this ... is the risk to your family member worth your convenience? If you care so little for the safety of the family member, stay silent. Your call.

Thanks for that information.

My challenge is if I piss off my family member *I* can end up getting hurt. Yes, she's been physically abusive in the past (it's been a while, but I still remember.) And evicted, and right now I have nowhere else to live, and do not yet have the financial resources to get my own place.

So it's not that I care "so little" for her, but I have a very strong desire for self-preservation. And, given my own situation, I've had to deal with a lot I didn't want to, just to survive. When it comes right down to it, base survival trumps quite a lot.

And the friend and I have done things we ought not have ... we were "friends with benefits" which was inappropriate given the situation - though quite nice at the time. Not thrilled with the idea of that coming out.

My family member owns the house - this person (no longer my friend, to be sure), is a tenant renting a room. As far as I know, this is still the situation. It's been several hours and we've not seen or heard from him, so I kind of wonder what's going on. Don't know how long it takes to work through the system ... or perhaps he went right to work.

It's hard to say how the family member will respond to things. She's not always exactly rational or reasonable. She also says she has a non-smoking house but both tenants smoke. I don't know about the one, but the other she knew darn well before she let him in that he smokes (I told her so) ... but then just recently (after months of him living here) she's freaking out at me because he smokes! Well, DUH. So if she's freaking out over that, and she's known that, but she was OK with it, but she's freaking out over it ...

Thing with her is she has "standards" and then bends them, and then gets upset about it, and then goes into a drama chaos story with me about it, which I don't want to listen to because she set herself up for the problem in the first place.

And I also have a feeling one tenant knows things about the other tenant that would bother my family member. I don't know what exactly, but I hear things.

That's one reason I feel like I just want to stay out of it.

Don't need to know, don't want to know - keep me out of it. But apparently both of them want to tell me these things. I don't need it at all, I have enough of my own stress.

Apparently you have made your decision. Best of luck to you all ... hopefully it won't result in a long prison term or grievous injury to anyone.

Not exactly.

I already came to the decision I just don't want to know anything personal about anybody here anymore.

But I'm still curious what my current legal obligation is - that's why I'm asking the question. Telling you what has already been going on in my mind doesn't answer my question of what is my legal obligation. And I specifically mean MY legal obligation, no one else's.

Is there an attorney who can answer this?

As I said at the beginning, you can face criminal charges depending on the circumstances. If you are a co-tenant of the home, there are charges that can be applied for allowing drug use in the residence. If drugs are found in a common area, you can also be charged for possession. If you are benefiting from the use or sale of drugs in some material way, you can also be charged as part of a dealing operation (in other words, if you have knowledge of sales and are living on things bought from the proceeds of those sales, a case can be made against you).

What charges you could face will depend on the details should this come crashing down. No one can say specifically what you WOULD face, only what you MIGHT face under the right circumstances.

Odd that you wish to remain silent when it comes to protecting a family member, but when it comes to your own potential discomfort you are concerned. If you wish to remain clear of liability, move

CdwJava said:

As I said at the beginning, , move

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Pardon me Carl,

allow me to hijack this thread for one quick quick second...


Can you please review the post "unsafe living conditions"
https://forum.freeadvice.com/landlord-tenant-issues-42/unsafe-living-conditions-502364.html

And advise if there is anything the tenant can be doing to help the police, help his neighborhood he claims to have gone from lovely to the gutter in 6 short months?

Thank you Sir.




And now back to the threads regularly scheduled programing

OK, I'm not renting at all, my family member is letting me live here as a guest. I am not on the lease in any way shape or form, as owner or tenant. My "legal" address, the one on my drivers' license, is somewhere else entirely. (I visit there, but don't want to live there either.)

I am not using nor selling nor making any money from this. Far as I know, he's just using. If he's selling I'm not aware of it, though if he was I suppose that could be in part how he's paying rent.

Far as I know, drugs are only in his room, not common areas. (Common areas are pretty much never used.)

I do not consider starving to death "minor discomfort", nor do I consider being beaten within an inch of my life "minor discomfort". My family member has beaten me quite severely over a number of years. Considering I have no significant income at the moment, should she say "leave", I'm looking at freezing in my car without food. I do not consider either of those options to be "minor discomforts".

There is only about a 3% chance she will behave rationally, which would be appreciating the information, and evicting him, while being pleasant to me (once she vented out her dismay and upset, and distress to evict him and find a new tenant).

In terms of moving - I swear on all that is holy every day I do everything in my power to make money to get out. Being disabled with no income and not yet physically able to do a regular job makes life very challenging. I have to put up with a lot I would never otherwise.

So, to bottom line it, sounds like you're saying since I'm not involved at all, simply that I know he is using cocaine puts me under no legal obligation to say or anything to anyone, or otherwise do anything about it.

What I am saying is that if the police become involved, the situation could put you in such a light as to be vulnerable to criminal charges. Not to mention the health and safety risks to your family member that you seem not to be concerned with ...but, I'm the type of person that tends to look out for my family. The only reason they might be mad at you for bringing it up is if they are using, too. And, if so, you just increase your exposure.

Good luck.