Johnny Depp’s recent trial comes to mind – he openly admitted to doing cocaine but as far as I’m aware no action was taken
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Possessing these drugs might be illegal but having them in your system isn’t illegal unless your in public and being antisocial enough to warrant the polices attention. Criminalising having drugs in your system creates a fear amongst users who are in medical trouble to avoid seeking help due to fears telling the ambo dispatcher that there high and having an adverse reaction ie chest pain after taking cocaine, will result in the cops being called aswell as the paramedics. When this stigma exists, drug associated deaths go through the roof and people lose loved ones. It’s morbid but true. Some counties in America have grey lines about this with underage drinking which has caused big problems because cops have been sent to scenes where a friend has called an ambo for there friend whose unresponsive and vomiting in there sleep after sculling a bottle of spirits, and so other teenagers have been scared to call ambos for there drunk friends and boom, friend dies from OD on alcohol
A lot of people here getting into the technicalities but at the end of the day the police just aren’t going to use their resources on one person, saying they once did a drug, at one point in their life.
A lot of people here getting into the technicalities but at the end of the day the police just aren’t going to use their resources on one person, saying they once did a drug, at one point in their life.
Possession isn’t much of a crime, in most jurisdictions possessing and doing drugs is a monetary fine. Usage of drugs is usually only a crime while operating a motor vehicle. Big celebrities have lawyers and money. The monetary fine is insignificant to them. This is assuming admission is enough to ticket them.
In most cases, the court would need to provide evidence of the drug and that it was in fact a drug the celebrity possessed. Can’t show the jury that a celebrity had a drug after they’ve consumed it. Can only show the bloodtest taken shortly after. A celebrities lawyer would cost the city or county more money then they could get from the fine.
The only time admittance of drug use can really be used in court is during a child custody hearing or divorce proceeding (civil matters). Those are only to help the judge understand how responsible the parents are.
Possession isn’t much of a crime, in most jurisdictions possessing and doing drugs is a monetary fine. Usage of drugs is usually only a crime while operating a motor vehicle. Big celebrities have lawyers and money. The monetary fine is insignificant to them. This is assuming admission is enough to ticket them.
In most cases, the court would need to provide evidence of the drug and that it was in fact a drug the celebrity possessed. Can’t show the jury that a celebrity had a drug after they’ve consumed it. Can only show the bloodtest taken shortly after. A celebrities lawyer would cost the city or county more money then they could get from the fine.
The only time admittance of drug use can really be used in court is during a child custody hearing or divorce proceeding (civil matters). Those are only to help the judge understand how responsible the parents are.
Possessing these drugs might be illegal but having them in your system isn’t illegal unless your in public and being antisocial enough to warrant the polices attention. Criminalising having drugs in your system creates a fear amongst users who are in medical trouble to avoid seeking help due to fears telling the ambo dispatcher that there high and having an adverse reaction ie chest pain after taking cocaine, will result in the cops being called aswell as the paramedics. When this stigma exists, drug associated deaths go through the roof and people lose loved ones. It’s morbid but true. Some counties in America have grey lines about this with underage drinking which has caused big problems because cops have been sent to scenes where a friend has called an ambo for there friend whose unresponsive and vomiting in there sleep after sculling a bottle of spirits, and so other teenagers have been scared to call ambos for there drunk friends and boom, friend dies from OD on alcohol
I know you have edited to say your a Brit, but even our laws do t criminalise drug taking. The only Crime is possession or supply. Unless you have it in your possession at the time of arrest the law doesn’t view it as a crime.
The only exception is drug driving but again the actual taking of the drugs isn’t the criminal offence. It’s the choosing to drive after having done so whilst still under the Influence
I know you have edited to say your a Brit, but even our laws do t criminalise drug taking. The only Crime is possession or supply. Unless you have it in your possession at the time of arrest the law doesn’t view it as a crime.
The only exception is drug driving but again the actual taking of the drugs isn’t the criminal offence. It’s the choosing to drive after having done so whilst still under the Influence
In the United States, a general criminal law principle known as the *corpus delicti* rule provides that a confession, standing alone, isn’t enough for a conviction. It’s designed to prevent wrongful convictions, implicitly acknowledging the phenomenon of false confessions.
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/is-confession-alone-enough-convict-defendant.html
If Johnny Depp had confessed to a more serious crime, the police would have had to investigate and gather more evidence to bring him to trial. For a drug use case, as a practical matter, it’s not worth the effort.
FUN FACT: Some murderers, like notorious Mafia hit man Roy DeMeo, erroneously believe that the *corpus delicti* rule means that if no one can find the corpse, they can’t be convicted of murder. So DeMeo carefully developed a factory-like approach for butchering and disposing of all his murdered corpses. He flew into a near-murderous rage when one member of his crew accidentally dropped the corpse’s ear, and it fell through the cracks of DeMeo’s floor.
In the United States, a general criminal law principle known as the *corpus delicti* rule provides that a confession, standing alone, isn’t enough for a conviction. It’s designed to prevent wrongful convictions, implicitly acknowledging the phenomenon of false confessions.
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/is-confession-alone-enough-convict-defendant.html
If Johnny Depp had confessed to a more serious crime, the police would have had to investigate and gather more evidence to bring him to trial. For a drug use case, as a practical matter, it’s not worth the effort.
FUN FACT: Some murderers, like notorious Mafia hit man Roy DeMeo, erroneously believe that the *corpus delicti* rule means that if no one can find the corpse, they can’t be convicted of murder. So DeMeo carefully developed a factory-like approach for butchering and disposing of all his murdered corpses. He flew into a near-murderous rage when one member of his crew accidentally dropped the corpse’s ear, and it fell through the cracks of DeMeo’s floor.
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