I went out for a cigarette break yesterday and encountered a young man on the corner doing this:
Obviously there is an intoxication problem. The corner store keeper had spent the last ten minutes trying to contact someone to come out and help this young man.
I tried to get him to follow me to a door way of a closed business so he could sleep it off but he became resistant and insisted "Nobody is going to tell me what to do".
He wandered obliquely kitty corner from his starting point and started to lean against a dumpster parked in the street. If he got up and staggered a few feet he would have entered heavy traffic. Traffic that would not be able to see him until it was too late due to the size of the dumpster.
So I stood there and waited.
Eventually a patrol car came by.
I waved it down.
When he realized there was a cop there he began emptying his pockets and dropping the contents.
The cop was more concerned with what he had dropped than his safety.
So I continued to stand between the young man and the traffic lane.
I was told by the officer after he had examined the contents of the baggie (without gloves!) the young man had dropped that I should go.
I told the officer that I was still concerned the young man would enter traffic as I left.
The officer did change his position after that.
He was picked up by an ambulance soon after.
Now for the guilt part.
Classification of Drug- Schedule I (excluding marijuana) Charge-Class B felony
Potential Sentence-Up to 10 years in prison and $100,000 in fines
Instead of treating this like the medical problem it is our government has decided for us to criminalize it.
I just may have sent this foolish young man to prison instead of his getting the medical treatment he needs.
For that I feel guilty.