I was in prison in my early twenties, AMA

[Lexibletheflexible]

I was in prison about 18 years ago, between the ages of 19-22. I now volunteer with charities supporting female prisoners. AMA

I was hardly selling the drugs was I? Just using.

I didn’t get away with anything. Most clubs these days knew you took drugs and allowed dealers inside. Even the police turned a blind eye to it on the whole as ecstasy users don’t tend to cause much trouble.

I am a bit contrite now yes. shouldn’t have taken the drugs but they were easily available.

So why do it?

Quite. Women in South America are worthy of her compassion but women in South London less so.

I’ve no idea if you were selling drugs. But your possession of them was illegal, just as her selling them was. I’m sure you or your friends would have also sometimes picked up drugs for each other. Which is supplying drugs.

The difference is you think your criminal behaviour is excusable, but OP’s is not. I wonder why that is. What other crimes have you committed that you think don’t count?

They were easily available yet not everyone took them. If you did, then that’s on you. Not the OP.

Actually a vast swathe of younger people took drugs back then. I’m not saying it was good/bad or we didn’t find them easy or hard to get. I feel no guilt about this.

So why should the OP feel guilt for providing them?

Of course I wasn’t selling drugs. And yes my possession was illegal. Despite that though, had there not been dealers around we wouldn’t have bought drugs as we wouldn’t have been able to.

You get all sorts here though judging. I’m not the one who sold drugs, had a gun in my property and then got sent to jail. My friends who took drugs were professional people from good families.

She sold drugs for money. I didn’t sell drugs. I bought them yes. Had they been unavailable I wouldn’t have bought them. She knows she did wrong.

Anyway, we are going off on a tangent here from OP’s original post.

I think the issue with this law that got me sentenced is that it can be used against people, particularly women, who have far less autonomy than I had.

You and your friends committed crime but it’s not your fault and it doesn’t matter anyway because you and your friends came from ‘good families’?

You cannot be serious.

A minute ago you said you were contrite. Now you’re not. You committed a crime just as she did. Neither of you got caught for drugs so you’re actually the same on that front.

I bet you haven’t spent 18 years since helping people though.

Just for context. I have never taken illegal drugs.

But I have taken legal ones.

Tobacco and alcohol.

Both addictive.

There are references to Al Capone in this thread and how he got “caught”.

For selling a now legal drug that I can buy in Asda.

For more context, she wasn’t in prison for selling “drugs”.

So I have no idea why it’s relevant

Yes, I was brought up in council houses and never felt the need to buy illegal drugs then blame the person who sold me them for my lack of control when breaking the law.

I think you misunderstand some of what I said. People have different values. You may value your child working in a low paid retail job where they are essentially the most exploited staff that keeps a massive corporation going while they work their arse off in college and uni and leave with debt. If they HAVE to work, it might even disrupt their bigger plans. So they might not do as well on exams, because they are so exhausted from working shifts for Sainsburys.

Unless I absolutely loved the job and it was part of my bigger plan, my parents wouldn't have thought me doing that was a good thing. Seems like indoctrined servitude for those with little choice.

Finding a way to make money outside of this trap and then using it to legitimately bolster yourself forwards seems a more logical approach to social mobility. That doesn't necessarily mean something illegal, but it might be.

Most of the people who have the most money do illegal, immoral things all the time to make more money. It seems stupid to sit with dry bread and water just to know that you obey the law.

@Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain obviousky comes from a different world, professional ‘good’ families.

Well off white young adults buying recreational drugs from poor black and brown kids, themselves ultimately most often controlled by white men with an adjacent business. Users have no personal responsibility - not our fault, they were just there, what did you expect us to do, we’re at university, Daddy is a world famous architect, I won’t get in trouble. Black kids getting arrested on the street, life ruined, oh well doesn’t matter because they’re not contrite enough.

I think some of what you're reading from me is the reality that prison doesn't really teach anyone that they've done the wrong thing, especially when you are in there for things you haven't really done.

If I had been silly enough to let a local rapping gang member feel welcome enough in my home (and bed) to leave guns and drugs there, then perhaps my sentence would have prompted me to reflect and change my behaviour. It didnt. All it made me realise is that as worldly as some of these affluent women might seem with their extensive travel and assets etc, they have no real knowledge of Real Life so you can't trust them or expect resilience from them.

This girl had travelled around S America alone at 18.

I thought i explained the dynamics pretty well. This wasnt an AMA about becoming a drug dealer because that isn't what I went to prison for.

I'm sorry but if your parents are super smarty pants who probably paid thousands for your education, you should be smart enough not to take class A drugs. I've never touched them myself. There has to be some personality responsibility for your own actions. I wasnt selling to orphans outside children's homes.

Exactly. Though she’s brave to say she has zero self control, a disrespect for the law, blames other people for her law breaking, and then whines that “a big boy made me do it” on the internet.

Bad upbringing imo.

Black, brown or white, wc children get their lives ruined by people like this.

Why couldn't they be available and you just not seek the purchase of these substances? Very few dealers are going around making people buy Molly off of them.

In the words of the great cardi B “beez in the trap” 🐝🐝🐝🐝

SAY IT LOUDER

I find the “Real Life” framing quite odd. It’s no more or less real to be experienced in gangs and crimes than not to be.

it’s also not really fair to be so focused on this young woman, if she didn’t know what this guy was doing either? How did she meet him — through you?

I mean it’s got to be OPs fault somehow, right? 🙄