Is the reality show Intervention legal to show drug addicts buying and using illegal substances wtihout jail?

Question

It tracks addicts to try to get them help. It shows them shooting up heroin, smoking crack and pot and sniffing cocaine. Why do't they get cited and prosecuted for possession of illegal substances? Why don't police investigate and go after their drugdealers? Am I missing something? I thought illegal drugs were illegal.

Answer 1

That's a really good question. I've always wondered the same thing!  

Answer 2

i have often wondered the same thing.  but i would imagine nothing can be done done because the office doesn't show up on scene.  unless they are caught in the act or caught high nothing can be done.  like if i walk into a police station and say say i got blasted from cocaine yesterday, there is nothing they can do about it.  and i guess the other answerer had a point by saying being that they are supposedly helping them that might make a difference.  i did  see one episode however where this one woman got drunk as h**l and got in her car and drove off.  in that case  wouldn't the producers or camera men at the very least have a responsibility to have stopped her?  what if she would have hurt some one?

Answer 3

Because they are helping the people and sending them to rehab....and the dealers don't usually show their face do they?

Answer 4

They show a statement BEFORE they start the show that the person has agreed to have his/hers drug documentary shown on TV. Why would anyone agree to this is beyond me.

I am assuming the producers have gotten all the legal paperwork in order before they proceed, such as, no police intervention and no arresting of the drug dealers, because the people are going to rehab after the show.  I have never seen the faces of any drug dealers yet.

If you notice right before the intervention, they always say so and so is going to what he/she thinks is the last interview, but in reality it is just family and friends who have been assembled to confront him/her and ask that they go to rehab.

Maybe the producers have some sort of deal with law enforcement that if they don't go to rehab the law can put them in jail and this is what they tell the person who agrees to the documentary.

I have never seen anyone turn down rehab so maybe that is the alternative but we don't see them telling them that on TV.

Answer 5

Well, a lot of time they blur out the actual dealers, but I get what you are saying. I mean, the whole thing is a documentary in hopes of getting these people help so they can show some of the not-so-glamorous sides of the situation. But, I don't know how things are where you live, but here everyone knows who the dealers are (including the cops) and nothing is ever done.

Answer 6

Drug possession is all about the substance (and drug sale is pretty close).  If they don't catch you with the stuff, it doesn't count.  If this doesn't make sense, make a list of the differences between drug possession and vandalism on film.  One is enough for a criminal case, the other is not.

Do the producers have an obligation to report the criminal activity?  Maybe, but it's not uncommon for that sort of thing to not be prosecuted, especially in light of their intentions.  That's called prosecutorial discretion.

Answer 7

ive wondered the saaame thing.

Answer 8

I've always wondered the same exact thing, but I honestly don't know D;

Answer 9

Because there is no way to prove if they are ACTUALLY illegal substances. Plus, they are going to rehab.