How to Take Action if You Think the Other Parent is Using Drugs

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: California

I do not have a legal agreement with my son's father , he kicked myself and our son out and took my took my car, It was in his name because of my credit issues, but I paid for it. So I had to start over completely . After he kicked us out his girlfriend moved in immediately , we have had our issues, (threats and drama), but I don't fight because I don't want the drama in our sons life, I try to just brush it off , needless to say we don't very much get along. but through it all I have tried to do what's best for our son, his father gets him whenever he asks(not often) , I don't get child support and I always split holidays down the middle so that our son can have both families. I still have zero contact with my ex's girlfriend and things are finally getting into a normal routine and we finally stopped fighting, However recently I was sent a message confirming that my ex was smoking a lot of weed and doing other recreational drugs, I confronted my ex and he says he's quit but his girlfriend still smokes and had done stuff in the past .

However I saw that my ex had purchased an item that is for recreation drug use for his girlfriend. which looking that up confirmed that it was for a certain type of drug use( the only time I met her she had clear signs of use). I am torn because I am a strong advocate against drugs, and I do not want that around my son , my son has just started spending the night with his dad (once every few weeks) and so now its really scaring me,and without proof I am unsure what to do , My sons father is very vindictive and threatens to fight me whenever he doesn't get his way , which is why he doesn't pay child support, because he states if I fight for money , he will fight for 50/50 custody. She works at a respectable job where this use is not tolerated and dangerous and rarely sees my son, but I don't feel comfortable with this around my son, but I don't have the physical proof to show anything except for a receipt...

How would I bring this up in court without ruining my relationship with his dads side of the family , without proof, and keep my son full time?

You have no proof so it is useless to bring it up.

How did you look up anything he purchased?

And if his name was on it it was his car.

So I am just supposed to be ok with drug use in his home, where my son is?

I have my ways , but like I said I have a receipt , a photo receipt with his signature and a picture of the item.

Mine was too

All you have told us is that somebody sent you a text message passing on a rumor about your ex-, and that you somehow "saw that [your] ex had purchased an item that is for recreation drug use for his girlfriend" -- but you have chosen not to answer a question about how you know what he purchased or who it was for. That's really not much to work with in court -- do you have any actual, admissible evidence of drug use by your ex, or of drug use or visible intoxication in the presence of your child?

The point of me telling you about the text , was to show that my ex had admitted it, ,but since then I have gotten a receipt that proves drug use , through our old joint email

That was my point, other than what he's admitted to me , and the receipt , no I don't, that's why I was asking

You have a receipt that proves drug use? How do you propose that a receipt that you received by email is proof of anything?

Do you believe that if you take him to court that he'll say that he admitted that he used drugs (at this point in the past when he supposedly admitted to the use) or do you think he'll accuse you of lying? What drug was he supposedly using, and how did the incident(s) affect his ability to parent or otherwise affect the child?

The items purchased were specifically for cocaine use, I don't know how the drug really affects people , I don't know enough about if it impairs the way he parents, however I don't want to learn the hard way , it's illegal.

That is why I'm on here, I'm on here to see if There was anything I could do with The information that I have

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Quoting CATH25

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The items purchased were specifically for cocaine use, I don't know how the drug really affects people , I don't know enough about if it impairs the way he parents, however I don't want to learn the hard way , it's illegal.

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You had a receipt in your email for items (you previously said item; now you're saying items) that can be used for cocaine and absolutely nothing else, and from that you figured out that your ex- bought these items for his girlfriend. That's still not much of an argument to take to court.

So again, do you have any admissible evidence that your ex- is actually using controlled substances? If so, do you have any admissible evidence that he has used controlled substances in the presence of your child, or that his use has affected his ability to parent?

I meant to say item , not items,I have the receipt and a message that states that his girlfriend was using , that it all

I don't want him doing it with or without his son , because I don't want it being around my son period

So you are stating at this point that the girlfriend uses drugs, but you have no evidence that she has ever done so in the presence of your child, you have no evidence that any drug has affected the parenting of your child, and you may not have any admissible evidence of drug use by anybody.

Unless and until you gain admissible evidence, this goes nowhere. If you are having a difficult time understanding what counts as admissible evidence in court, I suggest that you consult a custody lawyer with your concerns and let the lawyer review the email at issue and advise you accordingly.