Cocaine culture, legalization?

national | crime and justice | opinion/analysis Monday January 14, 2008 11:33 by Geoffrey Cooling - none

We need real and workable measures to deal with our drug problems, mandatory prison time for users is at least one option, while legalization is another. Let us at least start the debate.

It never fails to amaze me, every time an incident of savagery takes place we are treated to the same politicians uttering almost the same trite words. Hand wringing is performed, lip service is paid to voters, and a solution is never far off. A young girl was shot in the front room of a house in Coolock by gate crashers who were refused entry. It was a milestone, or at least that was what our political leaders and news media told us. It would finally bring the impetus to make real changes to the law and our society.

It was soon forgotten, the girl was soon forgotten by all but for her family, friends and neighbours. It was not the milestone that was heralded, not much changed. Perhaps if there had been changes it would have given some solace to the bereaved. Although a beautiful life had been extinguished, her death would have played a large part in making the country a safer place for her descendants. But unfortunately that was not the case, the government huffed and puffed but real changes have not taken place.

Then we were treated to savagery perhaps beyond the conception of most people. Two young children burnt in the rear seat of their mother’s car. A young lad became aggrieved and decided to teach their mother a lesson. There was at the time a huge outpouring of communal anger and grief. Our politicians again told us that enough was enough. Many people would have marched to Limerick to hang the two young hoods themselves. I know people who would have dragged themselves across broken glass to get a hand on those young lads.

But months later, it is all but forgotten and there have been no changes. Not far from where the children were so savagely attacked a young boy of five was recently shot, admittedly caught in the crossfire as it were. But still wounded during the day as he stood beside his mother and a group of women. Wounded by people who don’t care, they don’t care who they hurt, they don’t care what they have to do, and they sure as hell don’t care about a couple of politicians who pay lip service to the community and utter empty promises.

Then public anger was again stoked by the despicable murder of a young plumber, executed to facilitate the execution of a major criminal. And the young man’s terrible sin? Trying to earn a few quid, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. But even then I saw that anger receding, as it has before in so many cases and so we have gone on and on until we have arrived here. We seem to suffer with collective apathy. It was not always like this, in the eighties and early nineties, communities all around Dublin came together and fought the scourge of drugs in their areas. They did so without any assistance from the state because they believed that they must defend their communities.

In these modern times that sense of community seems to have evaporated. With our new found affluence we appear to have become insular, self-centered even. Our sense of collective responsibility has diminished; I have argued before that it appears that the sense of responsibility for self has almost completely diminished as by extension has parental responsibility. The Irish have lost their way, community ties have been broken and it appears that they are almost not repairable.

Cocaine is available in every town in Ireland; it has crossed social divides like no other drug. It is also the most profitable drug to distribute; the profits are measured in millions. The modern drug gangs are heavily involved in the distribution of this drug and jealously guard their profits. Unfortunately they also tend to use an awful lot of their product, which leads to a propensity of semi psychotic well armed rich criminals. The problem is that most affluent middle class users of cocaine do not seem to be able to see the link between their use and the mayhem on our streets. Well friends I have news for you, your 900,000 pound house in your middle class area is not going to protect you, because the scum will soon be able to afford two, with the assistance of your middle class accountant neighbour to wash his money.

We have all conspired in our downfall by our apathy and inactivity. However the buck does not stop just there, I do not often agree with McDowell, and I’m sure he does not really care if I do, but when he said the famous do a line of coke, be responsible for a murder line, I have to tell you, I nearly ran out and swore the oath of allegiance to our former glorious leader in waiting. But weeks later when he had not established legislation to hand out stiffer sentences to users, I came to my senses. The legislation that has been given to us is a standing joke, mandatory ten year sentences for possession to supply, are you having a laugh or what? The crime situation in Ireland, the viciousness, the murders, the assaults can be directly laid at the door of successive governments since the early to mid eighties.

The fact that most of the politicians we have in power today were also involved back then has to be telling about us as a race. The drug problem in Ireland was never taken seriously by any government up until the time Guerin was killed. All of a sudden it was a priority, we’ll get them off the street, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Some high profile targets were taken out and some continue to be taken out through the sterling work of the drugs units everywhere. But they then continue to run their businesses from within prison, who are we kidding here, we put such and such away, he used to bring in 25 kilos a week but now he is bringing in 40. And this is progress?

To move forward on this issue we need real action and enacted legislation. We need to debate seriously where we go from here. There are two schools of thought on this issue, basically legalize or penalize. Legalize, control and regulate, or penalize with stiffer sentences for suppliers and end users. The debate needs to occur, if you legalize and regulate you remove the large profits from the business and overnight put the drug gangs out of business. There is an argument against, however much of it tends to be emotive rather than logical. Alcohol is a hard drug that causes misery in all our communities; it costs a huge amount in lost productivity and has a huge impact on the budgets of our health services. It actively destroys families all over Ireland and is a large contributor to violent assault occurrences.

Yet knowing all of the aforementioned it is a regulated drug quite legal to supply and imbibe. Why should other hard drugs be any different? Does it make more sense to legalize and regulate, therefore controlling the substances and taking the large profit margin away. In one fell swoop, destroying the drug gang’s raison de etre overnight. Or alternatively we can continue along the failed route of penalization. If we decide on this course of action we must come up with strategies that work.
Heavy penalties for users are one option, if your average middle class user is made aware that he or she will go to prison for six months for possession of cocaine, there would be a rather rapid drop in cocaine use. While criminals would laugh at six months your average Dublin 4 resident would positively pale at the thought.

Legislation is useless without the will and courage to use it, as I have mentioned we have mandatory ten year sentences, however they are hardly ever given out to transgressors. If penalization is the route decided we need further legislation not just to reduce supply but also reduce demand. The legislation needs to be passed quickly and it needs to be rigorously enforced by our judicial system. Attacking the drugs problem from both ends is the only way to prevent a further decline towards the seeming chaos that lies before us.

Geoffrey Cooling