Do I believe that you should turn a friend in for child abuse and drug use? I have a different opinion on each.
If I had a friend that used drugs, but had no children, no, I would not turn them into police. Instead, I would talk to that friend, tell them how dangerous drugs can be, and try to get them help. In my opinion, a rehabilitation center can help more than being in prison will. On the other hand, if I had a friend who used drugs that had children, yes, I would definitely turn them into police. Drug use with children is, in my eyes, classified as child abuse. Children do nothing wrong to be in an environment with drugs in it. Not only does it alter the user’s mental status, and ability to make rightful decisions and thinking, but it also alters the child’s mental status. It endangers both the user’s life and child’s life, and that, in itself, is child abuse.
On the case of turning them into police for child abuse. Some people classify child abuse differently. If I had a friend, who’s child was acting up and the parent spanked them WITH an open hand, I would not call the police. If they used an object to spank with then yes, I would call the police. The non-abusive way of spanking is using an open hand and no more than just a few swats on the bottom, nowhere else. Depending on the age, if a friend hauled off and smacked a child in the mouth, that is considered as abuse. Any other type of abuse, whether it be mental, emotional, or physical, I would turn them into police as well as child protective services. Same as with neglect.
A child in no way deserves to be abused, neglected, or in a drug filled environment. They did not ask to be brought into the world, so treat them as you would want to be treated. I would not want to be sitting in my living room trying to watch TV or play with my toys, while my parents are in the other room smoking marijuana. Nor would I want to be hit with something because I did something wrong. People make mistakes, especially children, teach them in other ways that what they did was wrong, don’t beat them.
I am a very firm believer in ‘what comes around, goes around’, and I know that for a fact, people in prison do not tolerate child abusers, molesters, rapists, or ‘wife’ beaters very well. The abuser will get what is handed to them in prison, and I find nothing wrong in that at all. If you can lay your hand on a child in an unlawful way, then you deserve to be treated the same way. But, I am also an ‘eye for an eye’ type of person as well.
I also believe, very firmly, that you stand by your friends’ side, at all times. But when you see your friend abusing their child (this includes drug use) then to turn them into police is standing by their side. Abuse only gets worse, and could possibly lead to death. How would you feel if one day you heard that that child had died because of physical abuse or the parents doing drugs in their home, and you did nothing but watch it happen? You would have to live with yourself for doing that for the rest of your life.
By turning a friend into police that has children and abuses them or uses drugs, you could be saving a life. And that, is the best friendship someone could have.