I'm a Smoker not a Dealer! :(

kwestfan08

OP you say you have scales out to measure your quarter oz every so often. You don't say it in the OP but those that mean someone is coming to your gaff to sell to you?

If so could it be possible that the DS seen/been tipped off of a suspected dealer round your house and were investigating it?

shleedance

PucaMama wrote: »

do you?

That's a yes to my question, then.

onemorechance

There are several points in your story which weaken your position of claiming unjust treatment by the DS.

Firstly there is the obvious one; on both occasions you were found in possession of cannabis (despite it being an amount which would be considered to be for personal use rather than for dealing).

Secondly, you were found in possession of scales which are a staple tool of a dealer. In court, possession of scales is often a key piece of evidence in determining that the accused is a dealer. Whilst scales are also a staple tool of a baker, yours will contain traces of cannabis and can accurately measure deal-size amount of drugs.

Thirdly, whilst you say that you rarely go out or have visitors, you at some point come in contact with a dealer. These interactions increase your chances of coming to the attention of the DS as your dealer may be monitored by the DS. Typically a dealer of small amounts such as what you buy, quarters, will be of more interest to the DS with regard to who they buy larger amounts from, rather than for prosecution for their lower-end of the scale dealing. Your interaction with the dealer puts you at risk of suspicion of being that higher-end dealer.

Finally, whilst I do have sympathy for you as I believe that you, as an adult, should be allowed to consume cannabis and possess it for personal use, I also believe that the DS would not have raided your home if they did not genuinely suspect that you were dealing.

I don't know how the Garda Ombudsman works so I have no idea if they will be of any assistance to you in finding out exactly why you fell under DS suspicion twice, and to such an extent that they got a warrant to search your home.

shleedance

shleedance wrote: »

I'm really getting the feeling that people are completely missing the point. She isn't arguing the legality of it, but how the Gardi conducted themselves.

No, She believes that because she just engages in smoking a 'small amount' of cannabis that gardai were wrong to search her house!!

I'm not being moral here OP, to be honest if it was legalised tomorrow I'd be happy.

The point is, it is illegal and no matter what, the gardai found illegal substances in your home. You have no complaint.

drkpower

bubblypop wrote: »

No, She believes that because she just engages in smoking a 'small amount' of cannabis that gardai were wrong to search her house!!

I'm not being moral here OP, to be honest if it was legalised tomorrow I'd be happy.

The point is, it is illegal and no matter what, the gardai found illegal substances in your home. You have no complaint.

What are the grounds for obtaining a search warrant in drugs cases? Are warrants simply granted on the basis of suspicion of 'having illegal substances in ones home', or does it require more? Do those answers affect your very definitive statement on the legal question above?

loubella

drkpower wrote: »

What are the grounds for obtaining a search warrant in drugs cases? Are warrants simply granted on the basis of suspicion of 'having illegal substances in ones home', or does it require more? Do those answers affect your very definitive statement on the legal question above?

That is exactly my argument thank you drkpower.

loubella

bubblypop wrote: »

No, She believes that because she just engages in smoking a 'small amount' of cannabis that gardai were wrong to search her house!!

I'm not being moral here OP, to be honest if it was legalised tomorrow I'd be happy.

The point is, it is illegal and no matter what, the gardai found illegal substances in your home. You have no complaint.

LOL where did I ever say that? My complaint is that they received false information on two occasions that I was a drug dealer and acted on them with zero evidence. You have to have solid evidence to raid someones home for suspected DEALING not smoking and I know they had none. It is about how the gardai were able to act without doing their homework and invade my life like that...and destroy my home. They do not care about smokers!

loubella

kwestfan08 wrote: »

OP you say you have scales out to measure your quarter oz every so often. You don't say it in the OP but those that mean someone is coming to your gaff to sell to you?

If so could it be possible that the DS seen/been tipped off of a suspected dealer round your house and were investigating it?

No I call to him on the way home from work. I very much doubt he would even be known to the gardai. He only gets enough for himself and a few friends...so that he can get his own bit for free.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

loubella

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

I just rang the garda station and he confirmed that they need more than a false report to act upon it. They need evidence.

rubberdiddies

jeepers101 wrote: »

Ah come on people.
To the other posters here, smoking cannabis in the privacy of your own home (14 year old daughter or not) is absolutely no reason to have your house raided and does not in any way excuse the Gardai from doing so. Some need to dismount their high horses.

granted it may not be a valid reason to have the house raided but i feel anyone who is in anyway involved with illegal drugs has to expect some sort of Garda involvement at some point.

how do you purchase these drugs? maybe the guards were watching your source for the drugs? maybe that person is heavily involved either directly or indirectly in major criminal activity. and so by association you are involved in criminal activity too.

obviously there are strong opinions of cannabis use in Ireland at the moment and I'm currently on the fence about it use as I'm hearing more and more stories about its effect on mental health but i'm not sure who to believe yet!

but however way you dress it up, it is currently illegal and by using and purchasing it, you are supporting criminal/gangland criminality. the same people who go around shooting people twice weekly in Dublin. Yes, you are supporting them! (by you I mean the OP in this case and not the poster I'm quoting!)

yes you should take this further simply to find out if what they did was legal and followed correct procedure, however if you use cannabis, and buy cannabis, you cant really be surprised to find the Guards at your door.

and as for the possibility of having your 14 year old daughter at home, both with cannabis in the house and when guards are arriving, just because you are a businesswoman doesnt make you any less of a criminal (in the eyes of the current legal system)

Paulw

loubella wrote: »

I just rang the garda station and he confirmed that they need more than a false report to act upon it. They need evidence.

Isn't that what the warrant is for? To collect the evidence?

Penny Tration

If you truly believe the warrants were given on false or no evidence, then go ahead and make a complaint.

One thing I will say though - if it's so upsetting for your child (which I'd imagine it is), stop smoking.

That's not me trying to moralise. I don't give a damn if you smoke. But obviously somebody has been reporting you, or the Gardai wouldn't have reason to search your home. So practically and realistically, if you want to spare your daughter from this, stop smoking until such time that it's legalised, or smoke it away from your home.

No Pants

infosys wrote: »

Crossing a road within a certain distance of a crossing is an offence.

Rules for Pedestrians
46. (1) A pedestrian shall exercise care and take all reasonable precautions in order to avoid causing danger or inconvenience to traffic and other pedestrians.

(2) A pedestrian facing a traffic light lamp which shows a red light shall not proceed beyond that light.

(3) A pedestrian about to cross a roadway at a place where traffic sign number RPC 003 or RPC 004 [pedestrian lights] has been provided shall do so only when a lamp of the facing pedestrian lights is lit and emits a constant green light.

(4) Subject to sub-article (5), save when crossing the roadway, a pedestrian shall use a footway if one is provided, and if one is not provided, shall keep as near as possible to the right edge of the roadway.

(5) At a road junction where traffic is controlled either by traffic lights or by a member of the Garda Síochána, a pedestrian shall cross the roadway only when traffic going in the direction in which the pedestrian intends to cross is permitted (by the lights or the member) to proceed.

(6) Within a pedestrian crossing complex [traffic sign number RPC 002] a pedestrian shall only cross the roadway at the location of traffic sign number RPC 001 [pedestrian crossing].

(7) On a roadway on which a traffic sign number RPC 001 [pedestrian crossing] has been provided, a pedestrian shall not cross the roadway within 15 metres of the crossing, except by the crossing.

(8) For the purposes of this article, each carriageway of a dual carriageway shall be deemed to be a separate roadway, and where there is a traffic refuge on a roadway the portion of the roadway on each side of the refuge shall be deemed to be a separate roadway.

Indeed, but it's still not jaywalking and no one has been jailed for it. Do correct me if I'm wrong.

I did get stopped once for jaywalking somewhere that it was illegal. That cop still couldn't be bothered with the paperwork.

Starokan

The DS raided your house twice , both times they find evidence of drug use; this is the reason your on their radar; regardless of personal opinions as to cannabis use you are breaking the law of the land. Any search by the DS will be invasive , thats the nature of what a search is.

Your clearly intelligent , yet you know you are breaking the law and continue to do so; thats what I fail to understand here, you complain about the behaviour of the gardai and the effect on your child yet you persist in calling to a local dealer.

The reality is you need to stop purchasing and using cannabis until its made legal, if not somewhere along the way you could be charged with possession which will probably have a serious negative impact on your professional and personal life.

You have been unlucky, there are thousands upon thousands of recreational users who never come to the attention of the DS , being unlucky does not make you right however.

Show some sense and give up your habit before you face more serious consequences than you have so far

OP, possession of a controlled substance is an offence.

the Gardai can get a warrant under the Misuse of Drugs act to search a premises where they believe there are controlled substances.

im assuming one of the Guards said you were dealing?

I think you will find that the warrant was perfectly valid, and they are quite within the law to search for controlled substances.

You seem to be missing the point here OP, there was nothing wrong with the search they carried out, in fact they actually found illegal substances. Twice.

so by all means, complain to the Ombudsman, but you will be told the same by them.

loubella

loubella wrote: »

They do not care about smokers!

where do you think information about drug dealers comes from?

thats right.....smokers

No Pants

loubella wrote: »

I just rang the garda station and he confirmed that they need more than a false report to act upon it.

I don't think they know that it's false at that point. Besides, it's not false, it's just inaccurate. Drugs are being sold in your home, just not by you.

Mikros

drkpower wrote: »

What are the grounds for obtaining a search warrant in drugs cases? Are warrants simply granted on the basis of suspicion of 'having illegal substances in ones home', or does it require more? Do those answers affect your very definitive statement on the legal question above?

The Judge must be satisfied there are reasonable grounds for suspecting a person is in possession of a controlled substance. They don't need concrete evidence - it just has to be a reasonable grounds of suspicion. It seems a bit of a moot point because on both occasions they did find a controlled substance, albeit a small amount.

We only have one side of the story. The guards could be getting information from any number of places:
- is the OP well known in the community for cannabis use
- do her neighbours see or smell her smoking every night
- is she good friends with her dealer or seen in his company a lot
- did her daughter make some comment in school about cannabis
- is there someone out there exaggerating her involvement with cannabis for malicious reasons
- how much does the OP consider small / personal use

Either way it sounds like you are on the DS radar. Many frequent users also often deal a little on the side to finance their own consumption. I don't see any basis for a complaint.

I'm not on a high horse, personally I don't see much harm in personal use of cannabis in your own home. I would also much rather criminal gangs are not financed by "business professionals". But none of that changes the laws that are in place and accepted by a majority of people in this country.

good_sir_knight

but you used drugs, so in my view, you're evil. its just the law, illegal is illegal is illegal. i have no sympathy for you because of the automatic reaction i get whenever i see the word 'drugs'.

i do like to drink alcohol, and my kids are addicted to sugar and television. all three culturally sanctioned drugs that do untold harm, but i obey the law and follow it without questioning it, because is the best way to ensure the unstable but familiar to us all social structures stay in place.

im now going to ignore what you said and what is often reported about cannabis being good for anxiety and plead with you, as a person who feels like they know you and so can offer advice, get off drugs before you do harm to yourself and your daughter.

good_sir_knight

good_sir_knight wrote: »

but you used drugs, so in my view, you're evil. its just the law, illegal is illegal is illegal. i have no sympathy for you because of the automatic reaction i get whenever i see the word 'drugs'.

i do like to drink alcohol, and my kids are addicted to sugar and television. all three culturally sanctioned drugs that do untold harm, but i obey the law and follow it without questioning it, because is the best way to ensure the unstable but familiar to us all social structures stay in place.

im now going to ignore what you said and what is often reported about cannabis being good for anxiety and plead with you, as a person who feels like they know you and so can offer advice, get off drugs before you do harm to yourself and your daughter.

Jaysus.

Anyway I don't think doing something harmless that a group of people don't like gives them the right to break into your house and start smashing it up.

hullaballoo

Moderator: thread closed.

There are too many reported posts but since it's a Sunday and Ireland won the six nations and it's St Patrick's day tomorrow, I'm not going to get to review this thread for a few days.