Re:The Rise and Fall of Silk Road
by mindslight on Tuesday April 28, 2015 @03:40PM
(#9454643)
Immediately "report" - to whom? Of course I know the programmed response you're implying. But it's based on having an above-the-law ambient authority that does not exist in our basic legal system. Furthermore, the idea that a person is obligated to report anything at all to police is an anathema to a free society.
By doing anything other than destroying it themselves, the recipient is engaging in conspiracy and distribution. You're also assuming they can quickly identify what the substance is, and also immediately understand every applicable law. Of course we're out in the weeds here, since we've accepted the premise that simply possessing a substance (with no mens rea) can be a criminal act!
In an environment of legal contradictions you're never in the clear - you can only kowtow to the biggest gang and hope they're merciful. But let us not corrupt our own sanity by internalizing their farcical justifications.
By doing anything other than destroying it themselves, the recipient is engaging in conspiracy and distribution. You're also assuming they can quickly identify what the substance is, and also immediately understand every applicable law. Of course we're out in the weeds here, since we've accepted the premise that simply possessing a substance (with no mens rea) can be a criminal act!
In an environment of legal contradictions you're never in the clear - you can only kowtow to the biggest gang and hope they're merciful. But let us not corrupt our own sanity by internalizing their farcical justifications.