Agree or not? Hypothetical situation involving police and marijuana?

Question

We were asked this question in my Police Academy yesterday and I thought I'd see what more people think.

Say a group of city cops get together after work. A non-officer is handing out joints. Some of the cops take the joints and smoke, some politely pass.

The question was "what do you do? and if there were no ordinary citizens and it was only cops at the party, would that change things in your opinion?"

The obvious answer is "I would leave"

after that, of course it gets a bit hazy as to whether or not you report your fellow officers.

So the questions are:

1 - What do you do?

2 - if you leave, do you report the others?

3 - if it was only fellow cops at the party, would anything change in your mind?

I'll eventually post what I said if anybody is interested, but right now I'm just interested in what you people have to say

Answer 1

I'd probably be the non-officer handing out the joints. lol

but seriously, in an ideal world, no cop would ever smoke weed  because it would compromise their "moral authority". unfortunately, that's not always the case...I know of cops that sell the weed they confiscate.

If I was a cop I wouldn't report them, I figure that if they play in the dirt, they're bound to get dirty (ie: they'll get caught), meanwhile you go on and uphold the law to the best of your ability and provide a moral authority for others around you to aspire to.

Answer 2

1. I would leave

2. I wouldn't specifically report anyone, but I would be in the Chief's office the next day and would tell him it might be a good idea for a round of drug tests.

3. Not really

Answer 3

I wouldn't really base that on whether I left or not - if I was having a good time, I would probably stay...but no I would not report the others.  Now are far as what the appropriate answer is...I assume your Academy would want you to turn them in?

Answer 4

If I was a cop I would leave. I would also make it known why I was leaving.

I'm not a cop and I smoke cannabis regularly

Answer 5

1 -

You tell them straight, they cannot harm you as Police.

2 -

If you leave, yes you do report them instantly.

3 -

No, fellow cops or not. Marijuana messes up people, and even if they were fellow you would be doing them a favor by telling them straight however I would not report them.

Yours,

Craig.

Answer 6

College Boy M,

If your a college graduate (or so you claim), you might want to use spell check before posting.

Answer 7

1. I would leave.



2. I would not report the other cops, but I would make clear to them that I disapproved

3. No

Answer 8

Whether or not anyone witnessed what happened outside of the blue circle shouldn't really affect whether or not you would be more inclined to report them.  The same goes with the perception of the non-cop since many people who smoke joints think it is a rather insignificant crime in the big picture.

So my answer:

1.  Leave the party and tell them why.

2.  No, let them hang themselves just don't go out with them outside of work, ever.

3.  No.

That's not to say i would support it and you can be rest assured I would be speaking with each of them another day.  I don't condone that but unless the issue ran deeper such as them getting it from a dealer they arrested, then I would just walk away from it.  If they are that trusting of you to do it in front of you without knowing your reaction, they are either incredibly stupid and will get caught, or they are testing your loyalty.

Answer 9

ok if i was a fellow cop at the party and see this all going on, i would probably smoke with those who were. maybe not a lot, but it also depends on how well i knew everyone.  if i was just a person at a party and there were cops there also, i would pass it up know matter what. unless they were good friends of mine. but i also would not report anyone in either situation no matter how much cops like to write out  tickets.  i think weed should be legal you. don't see people fighting and getting in car wrecks while high nope just chillin and eatin watchin movies or playin video games (teenagers) or carpentry or metal fabricating for hobbies some go fishing.  i know one kid that likes to smoke and study for school last he got straight A's.  that's just a couple of examples of people i know hope i helped you a little probably more than you wanted. you'll get more like this i bet

Answer 10

I would quit the force and turn them in.  Then i would report it to the media.  I do not think that there is anything wrong with smoking marijuana, however, it is illegal and I'm sure every single one of those cops at some point or another would have busted someone for smoking pot.  So my reaction would be "why is it illegal when the people meant to enforce the law obviously don't see anything wrong with it?"  Plain and simple, If you want to smoke marijuana, don't become a cop.  If you really wanna be a cop, don't smoke marijuana.  I think if a cop does anything illegal, no matter how small, they should be punished as any ordinary citizen would be, and on top of that I think they should lose the right to be a cop.  How can you trust someone to enforce a law that they themselves don't beleive in?