Marijuana

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Mr. Lu

Bronze
Mar 26, 2007
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Lambada said:
The double standard is the key,
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The double standard, in the DR, manifests itself in an interesting way. There is a double standard in the way the legal system plays its game. The foreigner gets the hammer thrown their way, not because they want to send a message, but because the foreigner can pay, and pay big bucks. I'll argue that in these cases, it is a money issue, and not a social smoke screen. That's all.

In the end, drugs are such a part of this society, that it's just another way to make money. It is so interwoven into EVERYDAY life. "Everyone," relatively speaking, including the cops, judges and fiscales, have their hands in the pot. So that "moral" aspect was gone a long time ago. The gringo gets screwed because he/she has dollars to pay.

A local however, has "no" money, and since the judges know this, he will more likely get his three months and will be let loose. Add to this, that most locals know how to play within this legal system better than a foreigner. As a local you might get caught, but might have an "amigo," somewhere, who can help you out.

In the barrios, and in most neighborhoods, the cops know exactly who uses and where the "puntos" are. So why not throw them in jail? Because they aren't the big "money" fish or because the cops get a cut.

The idea that there is a morality issue, is linear. At the end of the day someone wants to smoke a doobie, let them. Hell, unless they ask, no need to tell them what the consequences are. In this day and age, unless you have NO brain cells and live under a tree....ah whatever, Go Patriots...


Mr. Lu
 
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Chip

Platinum
Jul 25, 2007
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Santiago
To the OP, people talk about drugs here as if it is becoming more and more common with young adults, so I expect it's use has some validity.

Then again, a relatively poor Dominican kid caught with drugs is a completely different situation than a foreigner. If you are caught you will be worked for tens of thousands of dollars, if you have it or not that is irrevalent - they will assume you have millions stored away. In other words, a gringo using drugs here is considered a very lucrative bnusiness for the locals. Your best bet is to move to California.
 
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Lambada

Rest In Peace Ginnie
Mar 4, 2004
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Mr. Lu said:
The double standard, in the DR, manifests itself in an interesting way. There is a double standard in the way the legal system plays its game. The foreigner gets the hammer thrown their way, not because they want to send a message, but because the foreigner can pay, and pay big bucks. I'll argue that in these cases, it is a money issue, and not a social smoke screen. That's all.
Click to expand...

Very difficult to generalise because it can be both, of course. The straight judges get less retaliation from a foreigner who will leave the country after the sentence is served than from a Dominican with connections. And sometimes a Dominican can get the 'clandestine tribunal' treatment which might not be made up of judges at all:
FISCAL SOLICITA MINUCIOSA INVESTIGACION CONTRA AGENTES DNCD

Puerto Plata Digital
 
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PrincessaDR

New member
Nov 4, 2009
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Mr. Lu - Excellent posts! I agree with you. Foreigners are treated differently then monied Dominicans and different again then poor Dominicans.

I for one would not want to be caught in this. I tell visitors all the time to stay away from drugs of ANY kind. It just is not worth it.
 
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Mason3000

Active member
Aug 2, 2008
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I was absolutely shocked at how much things have changed when I returned here a year and a half ago compared to how strict things were in the mid 1990's.

Back then I wouldn't even say the word "Drugs" in public, lest some undercover narc hear me. Back then, on the North Coast the cops would target a Gringo they knew lived in the area, was out every night and presumably had some money. They'd just set up road blocks to stop that person, toss a baggie in the car, arrested them and charge $10,000 US to get out.

Now, I smell weed all over the place and see plenty of people who look like they're doing coke (In Santo Domingo at least). I met a Dominican York recently who was pulled over while smoking (Or so he claims) and simply traded some of his stash to the officers in return for safe passage. I believe that in Santo Domingo it's actually difficult to go to prison for small amounts of drugs these days. First, if you're a foreigner they almost always wave you on with no searches or questions, even at drug/firearm checkpoints. Secondly, It's almost unfathomable that you could not pay your way out of it if you got caught. Perhaps some enterprising Captain or Major would try to juice you for $10,000 still, but it's MUCH more likely some enterprising private or corporal would try to juice you for RD$300 before it was ever reported to superiors or perhaps after he hands you off to his boss the Sergeant, that he would want RD$1,000.

It's not a smart thing to do, but the reality in Santo Domingo at least, is that the penalty for small amounts is usually a small bribe (Less than US$50).
 
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leon486

Member
Dec 2, 2009
40
6
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We'll my friend, if you're gonna do it I advise you to not buy it from someone you don't know. They might try to scam you by going to the police, then you'll have to buy your way out. Since you're a foreigner in their eyes you have deep pockets.

For about 500-700 pesos you should get a ball about the size of a tennis ball already cleaned. But that's in the city I don't know how much prices will vary in other places.

Now about the police, If you get caught by the police, I'd say you can buy your way out with a little talking (and you should), it's almost like flirting. A friend of mine once told me how he was with a group on a park and a policeman appeared, he just asked for a kick and was on his way.

Now, if you get busted by a group of DNCD (Direccion Nacional de Control de Drogas) agents, they usually wear all black and carry rifles and shotguns. It's a group of 10 or more agents usually in a pickup truck, you are done for.
However since it's a large group, you'll probably see them coming. Also they usually go places after getting some intelligence.
 
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pyratt

Bronze
Jan 14, 2007
690
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To the unnitiated it would seem drugs are frowned upon in the DR....but just like Miami in the 80s....if you test Dominican money in the street, it has or will have traces of cocaine on it with a month.

The truth is, if you get caught and have the money in the DR you WALK. The cops are bought easily and if not chances are someone in the process can be....

Don't believe me? Where's that dealers darling? Sorbeida I think is her name....the one who didn't show in court. Dominican Times printed a list of WITNESSES yesterday supposedly on a list that was to be smuggled into a jail....who in their right minds OUTS witnesses? Prosecuters lose files in other cases....

The DR is a beautiful place with wonderful people (for the most part), but due to the overbearing corruption in government, the military, the police (ALL forces)....and the tolerence of petty street crime by the residents who'd rather live in fear than fight for the right to live in peace.....the place is seconds away from being a "failed state"....

To those naysayers....prove me wrong, put on your jewelry and walk down any major street....leave your home for 30 days, tell no one you're leaving and see what happens....oh and Christmas is coming, time for the "roadside car checks".....PARE PARA PROPINAS.....
 
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greydread

Platinum
Jan 3, 2007
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Twice, I've had guys who were travelling with me have someone they barely knew bring them contraband. Twice, I have cut friends loose on trips. It's just like anywhere else where these substances are illegal. Sure, you can find it. It's all over the island and used to placate the impoverished masses just like in ghettos everywhere. The difference in the D.R. is that you are not among the masses. As a tourist you are totally out of your element and the most lucrative game played in the D.R. is "Get the Money from the Gringo".

The biggest industry I've seen there, aside from agriculture is tourism. The whole point of Dominican tourism is to lure suckers who are looking for cheap vacations and fleece them for small amounts at every turn. Buy a cigarette lighter; $100RD. It will look like the Bic that sells 5/$5 at CVS but it will fall apart before your pack is empty. I've seen "mamajuana" sell for anywhere between $10 - $25 US. I buy the dry bags for $100RD.

These are little hustles. They keep a small amount of pesos going directly to the hustlers and help feed the babies in a place where decent employment opportunities just don't exist for most people.

Drugs are a BIG hustle. As a tourist you represent a big payday opportunity for someone who is clever enough to catch you with your britches on the ground. Now, instead of hustling you for a couple hundred pesos here and there you will be subjected to the scare of a lifetime. Your stay in Dominican jail, no matter how uncomfortable will seem like a minor inconvenience by comparison to the prospect of years in a Dominican prison.

Let's face it. There are many Dominicans who absolutely hate foreigners who come into their country throwing money around, acting boorish and waste more money cavorting during a one week stay than they make busting their humps 6 days a week for a year. Some of these haters are in law enforcement and the only thing they'd like to see more than a gringo brought down to their reality is a share of a 5 figure (USD) booty.

Dominican Republic

Human rights in Dominican Republic 1997

If you get a chance, see the movie "La c?rcel de La Victoria: El cuarto hombre" (2004)

All things considered, the one time you get caught will make you forget the one hundred times you get away with it.
 
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