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Is it common for people to carry around baggies of white powder that isn't drugs? The container might tip the scale one way or the other. If there is a little w

Is it common for people to carry around baggies of white powder that isn't drugs? The container might tip the scale one way or the other. If there is a little white substance at the bottom of a dunkin donuts bag, I'd err on the side of not being enough for an arrest if it flags as positive since it is more than likely powdered sugar, but if its in a little baggies that are commonly used for distribution, I'd probably say that would be enough.

rpmisms 3y ago
When I was a teenager, I would carry around small baggies of baking powder, just in case I got arrested for something. I enjoyed trouble a bit too much, although never enough to actually get arrested.
- hoten 3y ago
  I would be immensely paranoid that an arresting cop would find this somehow personally offensive, and replace my joke cocaine with real cocaine.
- LorenPechtel 3y ago
  I've been tempted to put a folder of kitty porn on my computer. Exactly as labeled--cats having sex.
  - rpmisms 3y ago
    Make sure to label everything by the age of the cats involved, too.
reaperman 3y ago
I carry around ziplock bags of unflavored protein powder pretty much everywhere I go, as well as creatine powder. Both of these can look very similar to large amounts of cocaine, heroin, MDMA, 2C-B, MDA, or methamphetamine...especially the bags of creatine crystals.
ceejayoz 3y ago
Ever buy a doughnut, or work with drywall? https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/16/558147669/florida-man-awarded-37-500-after-cops-mistake-glazed-doughnut-crumbs-for-meth https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/16/558147669...
- reaperman 3y ago
  Or kitty litter: https://abc13.com/meth-drugs-arrest-houston/1690696/ https://abc13.com/meth-drugs-arrest-houston/1690696/
- bostonsre 3y ago
  Right.. hence my dunkin donuts statement.
  - ceejayoz 3y ago
    This was a fragment of doughnut glaze on the floor of the car; the other incident cited drywall dust on the floor. It's very clear people are being detained just off "tested positive"; no apparent extenuating "they had a bunch of dime bags" in either scenario.
mhluongo 3y ago
Creatine and other supplements Probably should default to "I don't know why someone would do that, but they probably have a good reason I can't think of" when we're discussing taking away their liberty.
- bostonsre 3y ago
  Yea, makes sense, didn't think of that. It would indeed sketch me out a little to carry that around, but could see wanting to carry it around.
giantg2 3y ago
"but if its in a little baggies that are commonly used for distribution, I'd probably say that would be enough." I'd say possibly. Like in my original comment, if they have a record of distribution that adds a lot of weight. Just having a baggie of powder, or rock candy, etc isn't enough. As a kid, I had little baggies of glow powder I would sometimes have on me. I've had some unlabeled white pills in my car (asprin) in case of an emergency. I'm sure there are other examples too. It's not really about what's common, but what's probable - those are two different things. But yes they would require more details to differentiate.
- bostonsre 3y ago
  Yea.. there is so much ambiguity in stuff like this. Reasonable and probable mean different things to different people and its not like we have statistics to show that when a powder of a given texture of a given quantity in a given container is found, what percentage of the time is it drugs and what percentage of the time is it something innocent.
cbsks 3y ago
My daughter drinks Miralax every morning, which is a white powder. When we go on trips I usually put a few scoops in clear plastic bag rather than take the entire container. From my college days, I seem to recall cocaine being a different consistency than Miralax. But I don’t know about other drugs and at first glance it definitely looks suspicious. I am aware that my willingness to do this is a sign of my privilege, that many people in the US do not enjoy.
- giantg2 3y ago
  Hehe if your privilege runs out, you better eat your stash. The back of that police car would be some nasty evidence that you were relling the truth.
  - LorenPechtel 3y ago
    It doesn't work that fast. I've had a whole bottle of it before and it was some time before there was any reaction. (Colonoscopy prep.)
- NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
  Be careful with taking stuff like this every day. Miralax in particular is indicated for occasional use. You're supposed to stop and consult a doctor after 7 days of use. I overused a popular fiber supplement for a few months and wound up with a kidney stone. I kept my PCP in the loop for all of this but it wasn't caught. An EMT is the only one who blurted out "kidney stone" although EMTs aren't supposed to diagnose anything. And nobody in health care drew the connection to the habitual supplement usage.
  - kube-system 3y ago
    Miralax is frequently prescribed by doctors for long term use. I believe the OTC directions are not because it is known to be dangerous for long term use, but because the symptoms it treats should be evaluated by a doctor.
    - 3y ago
godelski 3y ago
I'll give an even different example that what others are saying here. I would love to carry my medicine around in little bags so that I don't have to carry a whole bottle. It keeps things organized, more comfortable, and reduces problems if lost. But doing this can be illegal or suspicious no matter what that medication is, including simply ibuprofen. This is not dissimilar from the others saying they just want to not carry around a giant tub because the item is bought in bulk. The important take away here (combined with the white powder examples) is "just because you don't see a reason or understand a reason doesn't mean it isn't a rational thing that someone else might do." The law is supposed to be about reasonable doubt. Even deeper, the law is about protecting citizens. These activities might be "suspicious" but that's a vague term. At worst, these would be drug __users__ and not __distributors__ and I'd say those are the higher priority. They're also easier to identify because having many small bags is much more suspicious because it is harder to justify the convenience of replacing a storage container and/or taking a daily/lower quantity of whatever that substance is. It might seem weird to carry a bag of creatine, but it much weirder to be carrying 20. But maybe I'm falling trap to my own critique, though I'm saying I'm placing this on a sprecturm of suspicion instead of a binary condition to allow for other context.
- alan-hn 3y ago
  What if instead of having a large container that has powder that needs to be measured someone wants to take premeasured single dose bags? Or should people to carry a scale on road trips to measure their creatine? I don't think it should be suspicious at all
  - godelski 3y ago
    I fully agree with you. I was just suggesting that a larger quantity is of higher suspicion but you're pointing at a clear context I wanted to be open to. I fully believe that there is no hard rule based system that can adequately account for all reasonable scenarios. In fact, I think a key part of what makes us different from machines is being able to reject "rules" because we understand they're more akin to guides. So I agree and thank you for bringing this up. Side note: in many countries medicine does in fact come in pre-measured dose bags. It might be more plastic but it sure is convenient and has other advantages.
evancox100 3y ago
Protein powder supplements come to mind.
rurp 3y ago
A friend of mine went through an ordeal because a cop spotted a ziplock bag filled with climbing chalk in his car.
LorenPechtel 3y ago
People carry powdered supplements. Most are optional, some are required. Some are hygroscopic and the original container becomes problematic in humid climates--measuring out daily amounts is essential. People on the road often have one-load baggies of laundry detergent. Yes, pods exist--but if you're in a humid climate and don't have airtight storage you have a problem. Pods are hygroscopic and will fail if not adequately protected. (Think about it--the pod goes somewhere when you toss it in the wash. Where it goes is it dissolves in the water.)
- kube-system 3y ago
  Also poor people exist, and sometimes they gotta make do with what they've got, even when it might be something that looks sus, that a middle class person wouldn't ever do. And those people are often the same people to be targeted by police for drugs.

rpmisms 3y ago

When I was a teenager, I would carry around small baggies of baking powder, just in case I got arrested for something. I enjoyed trouble a bit too much, although never enough to actually get arrested.

hoten 3y ago
I would be immensely paranoid that an arresting cop would find this somehow personally offensive, and replace my joke cocaine with real cocaine.
LorenPechtel 3y ago
I've been tempted to put a folder of kitty porn on my computer. Exactly as labeled--cats having sex.
- rpmisms 3y ago
  Make sure to label everything by the age of the cats involved, too.

reaperman 3y ago

I carry around ziplock bags of unflavored protein powder pretty much everywhere I go, as well as creatine powder. Both of these can look very similar to large amounts of cocaine, heroin, MDMA, 2C-B, MDA, or methamphetamine...especially the bags of creatine crystals.

ceejayoz 3y ago

Ever buy a doughnut, or work with drywall? https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/16/558147669/florida-man-awarded-37-500-after-cops-mistake-glazed-doughnut-crumbs-for-meth https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/16/558147669...

reaperman 3y ago
Or kitty litter: https://abc13.com/meth-drugs-arrest-houston/1690696/ https://abc13.com/meth-drugs-arrest-houston/1690696/
bostonsre 3y ago
Right.. hence my dunkin donuts statement.
- ceejayoz 3y ago
  This was a fragment of doughnut glaze on the floor of the car; the other incident cited drywall dust on the floor. It's very clear people are being detained just off "tested positive"; no apparent extenuating "they had a bunch of dime bags" in either scenario.

mhluongo 3y ago

Creatine and other supplements Probably should default to "I don't know why someone would do that, but they probably have a good reason I can't think of" when we're discussing taking away their liberty.

bostonsre 3y ago
Yea, makes sense, didn't think of that. It would indeed sketch me out a little to carry that around, but could see wanting to carry it around.

giantg2 3y ago

"but if its in a little baggies that are commonly used for distribution, I'd probably say that would be enough." I'd say possibly. Like in my original comment, if they have a record of distribution that adds a lot of weight. Just having a baggie of powder, or rock candy, etc isn't enough. As a kid, I had little baggies of glow powder I would sometimes have on me. I've had some unlabeled white pills in my car (asprin) in case of an emergency. I'm sure there are other examples too. It's not really about what's common, but what's probable - those are two different things. But yes they would require more details to differentiate.

bostonsre 3y ago
Yea.. there is so much ambiguity in stuff like this. Reasonable and probable mean different things to different people and its not like we have statistics to show that when a powder of a given texture of a given quantity in a given container is found, what percentage of the time is it drugs and what percentage of the time is it something innocent.

cbsks 3y ago

My daughter drinks Miralax every morning, which is a white powder. When we go on trips I usually put a few scoops in clear plastic bag rather than take the entire container. From my college days, I seem to recall cocaine being a different consistency than Miralax. But I don’t know about other drugs and at first glance it definitely looks suspicious. I am aware that my willingness to do this is a sign of my privilege, that many people in the US do not enjoy.

giantg2 3y ago
Hehe if your privilege runs out, you better eat your stash. The back of that police car would be some nasty evidence that you were relling the truth.
- LorenPechtel 3y ago
  It doesn't work that fast. I've had a whole bottle of it before and it was some time before there was any reaction. (Colonoscopy prep.)
NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
Be careful with taking stuff like this every day. Miralax in particular is indicated for occasional use. You're supposed to stop and consult a doctor after 7 days of use. I overused a popular fiber supplement for a few months and wound up with a kidney stone. I kept my PCP in the loop for all of this but it wasn't caught. An EMT is the only one who blurted out "kidney stone" although EMTs aren't supposed to diagnose anything. And nobody in health care drew the connection to the habitual supplement usage.
- kube-system 3y ago
  Miralax is frequently prescribed by doctors for long term use. I believe the OTC directions are not because it is known to be dangerous for long term use, but because the symptoms it treats should be evaluated by a doctor.
  - 3y ago

godelski 3y ago

I'll give an even different example that what others are saying here. I would love to carry my medicine around in little bags so that I don't have to carry a whole bottle. It keeps things organized, more comfortable, and reduces problems if lost. But doing this can be illegal or suspicious no matter what that medication is, including simply ibuprofen. This is not dissimilar from the others saying they just want to not carry around a giant tub because the item is bought in bulk. The important take away here (combined with the white powder examples) is "just because you don't see a reason or understand a reason doesn't mean it isn't a rational thing that someone else might do." The law is supposed to be about reasonable doubt. Even deeper, the law is about protecting citizens. These activities might be "suspicious" but that's a vague term. At worst, these would be drug __users__ and not __distributors__ and I'd say those are the higher priority. They're also easier to identify because having many small bags is much more suspicious because it is harder to justify the convenience of replacing a storage container and/or taking a daily/lower quantity of whatever that substance is. It might seem weird to carry a bag of creatine, but it much weirder to be carrying 20. But maybe I'm falling trap to my own critique, though I'm saying I'm placing this on a sprecturm of suspicion instead of a binary condition to allow for other context.

alan-hn 3y ago
What if instead of having a large container that has powder that needs to be measured someone wants to take premeasured single dose bags? Or should people to carry a scale on road trips to measure their creatine? I don't think it should be suspicious at all
- godelski 3y ago
  I fully agree with you. I was just suggesting that a larger quantity is of higher suspicion but you're pointing at a clear context I wanted to be open to. I fully believe that there is no hard rule based system that can adequately account for all reasonable scenarios. In fact, I think a key part of what makes us different from machines is being able to reject "rules" because we understand they're more akin to guides. So I agree and thank you for bringing this up. Side note: in many countries medicine does in fact come in pre-measured dose bags. It might be more plastic but it sure is convenient and has other advantages.

evancox100 3y ago

Protein powder supplements come to mind.

rurp 3y ago

A friend of mine went through an ordeal because a cop spotted a ziplock bag filled with climbing chalk in his car.

LorenPechtel 3y ago

People carry powdered supplements. Most are optional, some are required. Some are hygroscopic and the original container becomes problematic in humid climates--measuring out daily amounts is essential. People on the road often have one-load baggies of laundry detergent. Yes, pods exist--but if you're in a humid climate and don't have airtight storage you have a problem. Pods are hygroscopic and will fail if not adequately protected. (Think about it--the pod goes somewhere when you toss it in the wash. Where it goes is it dissolves in the water.)

kube-system 3y ago
Also poor people exist, and sometimes they gotta make do with what they've got, even when it might be something that looks sus, that a middle class person wouldn't ever do. And those people are often the same people to be targeted by police for drugs.