Carnival Cruise Lines Passenger
Steals Prescription Medicine
June 9, 2008
Had this incident taken place aboard a Holland America Line cruise ship, odds are it would have never become an incident worthy of a Cruise Bruise mention. But, since the incident took place aboard a Carnival Cruise Line cruise ship, it was destined to end up here.
Let me pose this question to you. If you find prescription medicine on a cruise, that is something in tablet, caplet, capsule or gel cap form, what should you do with it?
A. Walk on by
B. Pick it up and take it to a person of authority such as ship's security.
C. Take it to your cabin and share it with friends
D. Throw it in the trash
E. Throw it overboard
F. Smuggle it off the ship, then go on the web to find out what it is, to decide if you should use it, sell it or give it away to friends.
In this case, the answer is F, for "Failed Miserably".
When a Carnival Cruise Line passenger found a bag of prescription medicine aboard the ship, apparently on the stairway, rather than choose choice B, my choice, so there might be some chance the person who lost it, might be able to retrieve it, this passenger smuggled it off the ship, took it home, then went to a pharmacy related website, that had prescription drug information, and tried to find out what it was.
Apparently, finding out what the drug was, became much more important than finding out who it belonged to. It was a difficult choice, I am sure.
When you find money, you know what it is, and the value. Jewelry, if you are not well educated in metals and things that are pried from the earth, it can be tricky to know that value. Still, there are clues.
If you find electronics, we all pretty much know the rough value of these things. A laptop, on the black market will get enough to fill the gas tank a few times. A camera, it might be worth the time of day, or could fetch enough to pay the car payment.
When it comes to drugs, if it is an illegal drug, and you are able to
recognize it at glance and name it, chances are you also know the value.
But, prescription drugs come in a wide range of shapes, colors and markings. Without an industry guide to identify it, this can be rather tricky. Especially on an international cruise, where the drug could have been manufactured in one of dozens of countries.
Still, what kind of person, finds a bag of prescription medications, then decides to identify it in order to determine if might be useful if ingested, or will bring some nice cash if sold. Perhaps the same kind of person who would have stolen such a bag to begin with.
The interesting thing about this query to find out what kind of drug was found aboard a Carnival Cruise Line ship was the urgency. The post on Drugs.com website was as follows:
Poster: SluggerHMA June 8, 2008 07:42 PM
"Found bag on Carnival Cruise ship- Round pink CG PC - Help!!! "
Note the three exclamation points, indicating this is a life or death posting.
"I just came back from a Carnival Cruise ship vacation and I found a bag of pills on the stairs. the bag contained 20 round pink round pills with an indent in one side and flat surface in the other. on one side it reads "CG" and on the other it reads "P C"
I found the bag on the way back from Cozumel, so I am sure whoever bought these pills did it in Mexico. that could be helpful in identifying these pills."
Any help would be greatly appreciated...."
Sadly, another poster in the forum at Drugs.com came forward to help this wayward passenger discover that the drugs were likely a prescription pain killer.
And so, in thinking on it, I decided to post this story. If you my friend, lost a bag of about 20 pink tablets on a Carnival Cruise, likely on a Carnival cruise that arrived back to the U.S. from the Caribbean on Sunday, June 8, 2008, the person who in effect stole them from you, smuggled them off the ship, and now has possession of them, can be found at this link.
Whether the narcotics are found accidentally, or deliberately stolen from a cabin, baggage or handbag, to possess prescription medicine, especially a narcotic that does not belong to you, in the United States (and most other nations) is against the law.
Going on the web to find out what it is, instead of trying to find out who lost it, is reprehensible. But, it is not all that surprising, as it was a Carnival Cruise.
Had it been a Holland American Line cruise, which are known to be heavily enjoyed by mature adults, the drugs would have likely gone to security and would have had a chance of being reunited with the rightful owner.
Who illegally smuggles drugs off a ship, that were attained by hook and by crook, then admits to it on the Internet? I'll let you decide that.
