Would you feed a drug dealer?

How did he run out of money selling drugs?

@ragingloli They use the product, not just sell it. Addicts are always broke.

Yes, I would feed a drug dealer.

I will feed the hungry if I am in a position to.

I might also tell them that if their life is unmanageable, that they can get help if they get clean and stay drug free.

I don’t have “street smarts” but I know to just give the food and move on. Realistically there’s no good scenario in confronting or denying them. Because then people will ask you “why didn’t you give him anything?”

You’ll have to say the reason why….and it’ll just spiral from there.

@Blackberry I’ve known them for decades and was at their wedding prior to their ‘job’ hange.
We decided to help, of course, because we don’t turn anyone down but we may have a conversation if they ask again.

If he is not pursuing and badgering people to buy drugs from him and he is starving to death, yes.

I’d feed him, but I might also give the cops a call to see if they had any interest in arresting him.

@mazingerz88 I can’t speak on the first since i’m not a client. The second, his wife asked me for help. So yeah. Just an ethical issue for me.

@elbanditoroso That doesnt work here, I’ve given then names and addresses and nothing happens.

I would opine that if you volunteer to feed people at a place that feeds the needy, you should treat everyone the same.

Not trying to be rude here, but volunteers are essentially workers.
If the place you volunteer at wants people to pass a drug test before they can eat, that’s their decision.
I would also opine that if people had to pass a drug test to eat there, it’s likely many would not qualify for the services provided.

I suppose perhaps the real question is “why do you offer your time to help?”

I realize that you’re only human, and supporting drug dealers is a reasonable cause for pause.

But then we get on a slippery sloap with who “deserves” help, or not.

What would Jesus do?

If there is a God, and “he” is in control, then “he” IS the drug dealer…..

^^Jesus is a love-drug dealer.

There’s a different question lurking here.

Does the drug dealer truly not have money – meaning, will he go hungry if the food pantry wouldn’t help him?

Or is he trying to maximize his drug profits by not having a food expense?

I think you will find that the social stigma of going to a food bank is a powerful motivator to not go to one, even if you need to, So it needs some pretty high desperation to do it anyway, and I doubt that profit maximisation is conducive to that.

@ragingloli Unless you’re a psychopath, then that stigma does not exist. Personally, I don’t know what I would do in this situation. I guess it depends on how much carnage this person is causing in the community. If they’re addicts themselves, I’m more likely to help and try to get them help. If they’re not, then I don’t know for sure.

I delivered and was nice. He acted like he dodn’t know what it was about. I told him his wife said they were having a tough week so I brought groceries. He said what did I get? And laughed.
Dude is fried, said he hadn’t seen me in 20 years (not true). So yeah.

@KNOWITALL That is a dilemma. Maybe figure that you are really helping the wife.

I think I’d help, but just with groceries, not money. I have a friend who, when she sees someone begging at intersections, will go buy them a fast food meal, which I think is pretty cool.

I’m not a believer in the bible, but I do believe that “judge not lest you be judged”.

I have been unfortunate/fortunate enough (depending on how you look at it) to have to get government aid, after hurricanes and floods.
It’s a person’s rock bottom, begging for food…
Nobody is proud, or happy about why they need a hand out.

A lady I worked with saw a man with a sign that said “homeless, need food.” She went to Mcdonalds and bought a bag full of food and took it back to him. He threw it at her car and screamed f@@k you. It changed how I thought of people begging on corners.

^Not everyone begging on corners has access to mental health care.
A common theme amongst the homeless is mental health issues, and/or lack of proper care.

It speaks volumes, to me, that “the greatest nation in history,” has it’s sick and defenseless on display in almost every American city.

The NO/Katrina disaster, highlighted exactly how much the poor and sick are left to die by our government far too often.

@chyna One of my relatives lives in NYC and she tells a story about how a few years ago, a guy came up to her and asked for money for food. She said to him, I’ll take you over to that deli over there. It’s a really good place and they have good stuff, and I’ll buy you something. He turned down her offer. Apparently he just wanted money, not food.

^He wanted drugs, or alcohol.
The definition of an addict is someone who prioritizes a substance over all other needs.
It’s a disease. Unfortunately.

I’m a sucker for the panhandlers. Sigh.

Withholding food from a drug dealer won’t do anything but cause more problems. He/she will either sell more drugs or steal from people to get money. I wouldn’t give them money, but food, yes.

The one that bothered me more was being in line behind a shady looking guy that was buying groceries. He paid for everything except the beer with food stamps. For the beer he pulled a wad of money about 3–4” thick and dug through it to find something as trivial as a $20. The optics were completely wrong. If you have enough cash to carry around what looked to be several thousand dollars, why are you on food stamps?

I’ve bought foodstamps before.
I used to be able to pay $10—$20 for a $50 voucher.

The foodstamp is not intended to be, but it IS currency.

I live near downtown of a city with close to 300k people. I’m confronted by homeless people several times per week. You learn who is playing you and you learn who the honest ones are. I am more than happy to help get them food. I’ve even given a beer from my deck when they politely asked for one while my husband and I were lounging. I know this man isn’t homeless but at least you know he’s only asking for food.

I’ve had a woman come up to my car as I was parking in front of my house. She was crying and giving me some sob story. She said she needed money for a hotel. This isn’t the first time she’s come up to me right in front of my house, with the same story but told in a slightly different way. I’ve also seen her at our local grocery store going up to people in tears. She’s been doing this for years. She has shelter at the homeless shelter three blocks down the street. These are the people I avoid.

^Definitely.
I had my own personal homeless guy, for years.
“Lamar” always hung out at the intersection by my old house.

I used to give him a few beers from a 12 pack. It’s funny because one night at the gas station I was short on money, and Lamar started throwing change at the cashier until he gave us the beer.
He would “protect” my motorcycle when I was in the gas station. He used to kiss my girlfriend’s hand and gross her out. He danced, and sang. He was very entertaining.

I don’t mind giving an honest addict money. I hate the long BS stories, about needing gas money, or money for baby food.

It’s enabling behavior, I know.
In my mind, it’s likely crime prevention sometimes.
If an addict doesn’t make enough money to support their habit, they will commit crimes to augment their funds.

^A guy came up to my husband and asked for a few bucks. He asked the guy what he needed the money for. The guy said beer. My husband handed him a $5.

^Drugs are a coping mechanism, of sorts. Not a healthy one, but still.
I know why I used to drink, when it became a problem. It helped me not think about reality.
Which was really bad.

Then, it replaced my reality.

If someone is begging for money, they usually have an unsavory reality.

I didn’t take homeless people home with me. But. If I could help them get through one more night like I used to have I will.

Maybe. I would be more likely to give someone a food item than money.

@MrGrimm888 I understand that the person who approached my relative wanted drugs or alcohol. That was my point. Often (not always, but often, or maybe usually) they will ask for food which arouses sympathy in people, but it’s not really food that they want, it’s money for drugs or alcohol.

It’s a good thing I almost never carry cash. I don’t give money (or food) to beggars.

I don’t know what it’s like to work at a food pantry, but I did volunteer at a city-run food distribution event a few times during the pandemic. There was certainly no option to refuse anyone who showed up, whether I thought they were a drug dealer or not. I don’t think it was my task to evaluate who was deserving.

I will admit I sometimes make snap judgments of people panhandling. I tend to ignore those who have their “own” traffic medians at busy intersections.

But I will give a buck or two to a street drunk/addict who is sheltering in a doorway, because there is a very small chance the bottle they buy with the money I give helps them hit bottom.

I have occasionally asked panhandlers if they want a cup of coffee and they can go with me to an AA meeting. I have not gotten any takers.

(Homeless people know where all the AA and NA meetings are, and know they can get a cup of coffee and maybe a cookie or two there)

I’ll feed anyone who’s hungry, without questions or judgments.

I would love to be able to say I’ll feed anyone who’s hungry, however, my money will not stretch that far to feed anyone and everyone who is looking for food, despite their circumstances.

I know at the social services department where I worked for over 20 years, they would drug test people looking for public assistance because it’s a bottomless pit with giving people money and the recipients doing drugs, so by drug testing them, if they’re found to be “dirty” they’re mandated to a treatment program. The recipients’ options at that point are to obtain food and shelter elsewhere, like a soup kitchen. Some may disagree with that policy.

All – although the question is in Social, it asks about a food service specifically so I think the question is not really about would you give money to a street person but would you give food to a drug dealer from your food pantry.

Of course the OP can decide whether the side issues are relevant.

@jca2 That’s where the ethical dilemma is for in this case. We rely on donations and don’t always have it to give.
So two of us spent $60 each to buy a drug dealer food, from our personal funds. That kinda hurt more than feeding a family with five kids.

It is at my discretion because we don’t take any cash, and if I feed a drug dealer with no kids, another family goes without @Demosthenes. Believe it or not I had business owners ask me for eggs once so I explained the food I distribute is for the needy.
We also had another family asking for help for someone in another city, which has multiple food help locations. Our city has me and one church pantry. In that case, we helped once them referred them to their food pantries.

Yes I would. Plain and simple.

@KNOWITALL Pretty nervy of a business owner to ask a food pantry/soup kitchen for eggs. WTF.

@jca2 I agree. People show up at the church pantry in brand new cars. That’s why we are a little choosier and have a list of families, rather than a giveaway open to everyone.
And while I don’t like saying no, I did catch someone selling a donation I had given them so they were cut off future donations.

I think those boils down to the “would you try to save a drowning stranger?” question.

Many would jump into action, and attempt to save a stranger from drowning. Even risking their lives.

But. You don’t know if the person maybe deserves to drown.

Personally. I have always tried to help people in trouble.

It is my belief that for those like me, you almost have to help.
I couldn’t live with watching someone drown, if there was anything I could have done.

When I was a LEO, I would pull a man off of a woman he was beating, and occasionally the woman would try to stab me or something while I was handling the man who was beating her.

No good deed, goes unpunished.
Honestly @KNOWITALL the way you describe the man sets off my radar. Just make sure you don’t end up alone with people like that.

Even the world’s worst prisons, feed the prisoners something.

I think it’s likely impossible not to think about such things.
However. In the moment, people are JUST people. A hungry person, is in a moment of turbulence.

Feeding such people is important to the community.
If there is ANY hope the world will get better, we will have to help everyone.

Starving people, can’t change for the better.

@KNOWITALL Please make sure that someone knows your exact route on such deliveries, and when you are expected to return. You probably already have things under control.
I just wanted to be on record saying, be careful around such people.

Thanks for feeding the needy by the way.

@janbb The theme is the same though, in my opinion. It’s about judging who is worthy of receiving help when asked. It’s not a stretch to talk about people begging for money to those who need food from food pantries. It all falls under the same umbrella.

@MrGrimm888 Oh I do, some friends live right beside him so i checked in with them first. My husband always knows where I am or goes with me if I dont know the person/family. And i never go in and leave my car running. :)

Yes, I would feed a drug dealer.

I guess maybe his business is falling apart. Hopefully, he stops using and finds a better job that isn’t so destructive.

@JLeslie Your lips to God’s ears. They aren’t bad people, just made really bad choices.

@KNOWITALL A friend of mine was a dealer in his late teens and 20’s and he used also. He had a fancy apartment in a luxury building, expensive sportscar, entrenched in the drug dealing lifestyle, and then after several years it all started to fall apart. He started realizing the trajectory he was on and gave it all up and moved back to NY near his family. He went to chiropractic school, met his future wife, and now has two grown boys who are both incredible, a new grand baby, and going to retire soon. You would never guess he had that wild life so many years ago.

One thing going for him I think was he grew up in a good family that didn’t use drugs and alcohol, so he didn’t have to break that pattern, he had just gone astray.

Thats great!! Unfortunately these folks have bwen in it so long it will likely kill them. Its very sad to watch.