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Traditional Catholic Faith => Fighting Errors in the Modern World => Topic started by: klasG4e on January 17, 2017, 01:32:30 PM

Title: Paying for Street Drugs
Post by: klasG4e on January 17, 2017, 01:32:30 PM
Adult buys illegal street drugs for personal use from adult drug dealer on promise to pay and then consumes them.  Does guy have any moral obligation to keep his promise to pay drug dealer?   Would it make a difference if he if realizes that drug dealer's life may be placed in jeopardy if he doesn't get the payment which is much needed to pay off the drug dealer's dealer?

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More generally, adult  X contracts with adult Y to perform an act which X on good faith believes Y is legally authorized to perform.  Y satisfactorily performs the act, although Y is not legally authorized to perform and in doing so actually commits a civil crime (which for our purposes here we may state is at the same time a violation of the Eighth Commandment), aside from not being open with X in the first place in explaining to X that Y is not legally authorized to perform the act.  Is X under any moral obligation to finish paying Y for the act?  If upon learning of Y's unauthorized status in doing what he has done is X morally culpable for continuing on in his working relationship with Y?
Title: Paying for Street Drugs
Post by: Mithrandylan on January 17, 2017, 01:49:35 PM
I don't think many drug dealers are the "pay me Tuesday" type...

Anyways, there's an obligation in justice to honor commercial transactions.  I'm not sure exactly how absolute it is, but in this instance someone is paying for some type of good, and that good, though its subjectively intended use may not be lawful, is still a good with some objective lawful value (e.g., marijuana and cocaine were both common pharmaceuticals not just in American but worldwide before the twentieth century).  We're not talking about paying a hitman here.  So I don't think the fact that the drug dealer's supplier might harm him even has to enter into the equation.  The dealer is owed the money simply by virtue of the transaction and the agreed upon contract.
Title: Paying for Street Drugs
Post by: klasG4e on January 17, 2017, 02:33:28 PM
Thanks for the input.  (By the way, the question is not one in which I am personally involved, just in case anyone was wondering!)

Even though the contract itself would not be considered a valid/legal contract one?! Just asking?
Title: Paying for Street Drugs
Post by: Mithrandylan on January 17, 2017, 03:44:01 PM
Quote from: klasG4e
Thanks for the input.  (By the way, the question is not one in which I am personally involved, just in case anyone was wondering!)

Even though the contract itself would not be considered a valid/legal contract one?! Just asking?


Moral and legal obligations aren't the same thing.  Legal obligations surrounding commerce, at least in theory, exist to enforce the moral obligations of commerce.  When they don't, that doesn't mean the moral obligation doesn't exist, it just means that the law is failing to enforce it.



 
Title: Paying for Street Drugs
Post by: klasG4e on January 17, 2017, 07:28:28 PM
Following your line of thought, would one be morally obligated to pay a hit man if he carried out the hit you had contracted with him to carry out.  The purchase of illicit street drugs is an immoral act, no?  
Title: Paying for Street Drugs
Post by: Student of Qi on January 17, 2017, 10:58:43 PM
Does the phrase "The laborer is worthy of his hire" not apply here? If one commisioned a hit- man and he did the job, I would certainly pay him. People don't work for free, if I were a hit- man and accomplished my task I would expect to be payed. And - more or less - hiring someone is a promise to compensate for doing your work so, one is expected to keep their word.

This is how I see it.
Title: Paying for Street Drugs
Post by: poche on January 17, 2017, 11:16:18 PM
One thing to think about when you buy street drugs is that you are giving financial support to terrorists and really bad people who do the really bad things in places like Mexico. Those really bad people are a big part of the reason for the influx of illegal immigration into the United States. I think this whole affair of street drugs is grossly immoral to begin with.