# Would you start selling dope to make ends meet? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 20, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-start-selling-dope-to-make-ends-meet/582589 "2011-05-20T16:44:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-start-selling-dope-to-make-ends-meet/582589/21 "2011-05-21T09:18:29Z")
It was illegal. And that mattered to us. The US taxpayers were subsidizing the booze and cigs that we would have bought, and that mattered to us, too. We wouldn’t have been buying this stuff on the open market. The booze and cigs didn’t have tax stamps on them. And yes, I think that I’d make the same choice, perhaps BECAUSE Grandpa Bodoni was a rumrunner. Being gangster or a rumrunner or a drugrunner is not a glamorous life, no matter how the media portrays it. ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-start-selling-dope-to-make-ends-meet/582589/22 "2011-05-21T11:10:15Z")
There’s an interesting series of short stories by a grower in Humboldt county about raising marijuana if anyone’s interested. From what I’ve read, some folks got really pissed that she was presenting the ‘darker’ side of the growing culture. I liked them and although the stories are fiction, I think they accurately present a different perspective on growing pot. > **[Other End of the Line: SoHumBorn Sunday](https://kymkemp.com/2010/04/04/other-end-of-the-line-sohumborn-sunday/)** > >  Neighbor's Daughter (not related to the events of the story but evoking the fragility of the little girl in the story's world) In December 2008, a Southern Humboldt blogger began posting fictional… ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-start-selling-dope-to-make-ends-meet/582589/23 "2011-05-21T11:15:56Z")
I did as a teenager (weed and LSD). On a very small scale, and long enough ago - especially given that I was well under the age of majority - something that’s probably OK to admit on here. I would never go to the lengths that the family in the OP did - just too risky. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-start-selling-dope-to-make-ends-meet/582589/24 "2011-05-21T15:02:16Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > But seriously, if had a family to feed I would do it. I don’t know if it’s just a Pacific Northwest thing, but all of the dealers I’ve known in my life were all laid back granola types, or just mellow in general. None were certainly the crazy paranoid gun toting gangbangas like the media likes to portray. Not in the Pacific Northwest, but crunchy granola Paul Spreng (Balthazar) was arrested as a dealer/grower. He was a festival friend of mine. Great guy, sweet as pie, I doubt he ever touched a gun. And yet he’s rotting in prison for up to 50 years for a grow operation anyhow. How are my kids going to support themselves when their dad is dead and I’m in jail? ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-start-selling-dope-to-make-ends-meet/582589/25 "2011-05-21T15:32:13Z")
After my husband had three knee surgeries last year, and was out of work for a total of five months, and we had a baby, I took a look at all of his prescriptions he wasn’t taking. Lots of major pain pills, like oxy, hydrocodone, oxymorphone, narcotic pain relief patches… I know enough to have some idea of the street value. That money would have been a huge help when I was scrounging up change to buy milk or diapers before payday, but four things stopped me from converting that stuff to cash: My husband is a cop. If I were caught doing something like that, he would realistically be forced to choose his marriage or his career. I would have been caught. I don’t have the “street smarts” to know how to get away with something like that. And there is no way my family would have been better off with me in jail/prison. Even if I hadn’t been arrested, my husband would have known. Because of his ethics, he would have had to uphold his oath, and given me the choice to turn myself in before he did. It would’ve killed him to do so, but he would have made that choice. And I’ve seen the harm that prescription drug abuse can do. Morally, I can’t contribute to that. I consider marijuana sale and use to be on a much lower level than other drugs - more like alcohol than oxy or meth - but still couldn’t risk my kids for that! Now, if I were in a position of “no legal options to feed my kids,” I might consider prostitution, because that would be a relatively victimless crime. But first I’d be scrounging through ditches and trash bins for recyclable aluminum! ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-start-selling-dope-to-make-ends-meet/582589/26 "2011-05-21T16:16:54Z")
The penalties, while unjust and immoral, are real and severe. I have the perfect home for a grow-op, but I’m not going to take even a small risk of civil forfeiture and 10 to 20 years in prison. > [@](#): > > Drugs that are illegal in the US: You may discuss the effects of drugs, but not where to obtain them. Limited discussion of past use of drugs is OK, but discussion of current use is not. Please include a disclaimer that the drug is illegal in the US. In the furtherance of civil disobedience, let me state that I currently smoke pot about three to four times a year, and I’m leaving out any disclaimer. ---
**Author:** ![classyladyhp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5ac83/32.png) [@classyladyhp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/classyladyhp)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-start-selling-dope-to-make-ends-meet/582589/27 "2011-05-21T16:21:24Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > After my husband had three knee surgeries last year, and was out of work for a total of five months, and we had a baby, I took a look at all of his prescriptions he wasn’t taking. Lots of major pain pills, like oxy, hydrocodone, oxymorphone, narcotic pain relief patches… I know enough to have some idea of the street value. That money would have been a huge help when I was scrounging up change to buy milk or diapers before payday, but four things stopped me from converting that stuff to cash: > > My husband is a cop. If I were caught doing something like that, he would realistically be forced to choose his marriage or his career. > > I would have been caught. I don’t have the “street smarts” to know how to get away with something like that. And there is no way my family would have been better off with me in jail/prison. > > Even if I hadn’t been arrested, my husband would have known. Because of his ethics, he would have had to uphold his oath, and given me the choice to turn myself in before he did. It would’ve killed him to do so, but he would have made that choice. > > And I’ve seen the harm that prescription drug abuse can do. Morally, I can’t contribute to that. > > I consider marijuana sale and use to be on a much lower level than other drugs - more like alcohol than oxy or meth - but still couldn’t risk my kids for that! > > **Now, if I were in a position of “no legal options to feed my kids,” I might consider prostitution, because that would be a relatively victimless crime**. But first I’d be scrounging through ditches and trash bins for recyclable aluminum! Yes that is until you get into a guy’s car and he ends up being a serial killer. I’d say prostitution is more dangerous than selling drugs. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-start-selling-dope-to-make-ends-meet/582589/28 "2011-05-21T16:50:08Z")
> [@classyladyhp](#): > > Yes that is until you get into a guy’s car and he ends up being a serial killer. I’d say prostitution is more dangerous than selling drugs. By “victimless,” I kind of meant that as the criminal, I wouldn’t be doing active harm to someone else - assuming safe sex practices… And I would also do anything else legal/moral/practical before resorting to that! ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-start-selling-dope-to-make-ends-meet/582589/29 "2011-05-21T17:00:44Z")
I’ve watched too much The Wire to ever believe i would be successful. I wouldn’t do it because of the going to pound-me-in-the-ass prison implications, i have nothing against buying sell or using drugs. ---
**Author:** ![Yarster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/7c8e57/32.png) [@Yarster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yarster)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-start-selling-dope-to-make-ends-meet/582589/30 "2011-05-21T19:03:43Z")
I had some sympathy for the woman in the story…until I read the part about the 4,000 square foot house. Seriously? That’s a huge house for three people. If that was the only way to make ends meet, I guess I would have to try it, but I would sure explore every single legal option I had first, and even then, I would probably just move back home and in with my parents first, who I’m sure would take me in and let me work a minimum wage job contributing whatever I could in the interim. I would have to get VERY desperate before I’d do it, like starving desperate… ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-start-selling-dope-to-make-ends-meet/582589/31 "2011-05-21T19:23:51Z")
I would say no. Whether or not your pro or anti marijuana (or other drugs) the thing is once you get into the criminal justice system, it’s way too easy to get caught up. I’ve known of people who get sent to prison for a short time on a minor drug charge. While they’re there, it’s hard to keep out of trouble. They get caught back into the system and wind up with extended sentences. Then once your released with a felony you’re always on the bottom of any job hiring list. If you have to do it to make ends meet, I can understand that, better than being homeless but otherwise, no. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-start-selling-dope-to-make-ends-meet/582589/32 "2011-05-21T19:39:27Z")
I have been to a pot dealer’s place before (many, many moons ago) with a friend who was buying some. I have to say, the place was kind of a dump. And he had about 10 green garbage bags full of pot he was selling. Frankly, I think I would look at other ways of making money, 'cus pot dealing just doesn’t seem that lucrative. FWIW, I have a very green thumb and another friend gave me a pot plant to grow just for kicks. I couldn’t keep the damn thing alive despite my best efforts. I think hanging all my income on a plant that is that finicky is just a bad idea. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-start-selling-dope-to-make-ends-meet/582589.md?page=1)