Blood and coke

Nothing in the drugs trade is fun, glamorous and without repercussion.

Would you, as a young person, link an ecstasy tablet to yet another gangland murder? As a result of such callous violence, children grow up without a parent or a woman is left without her partner.

Would you associate the sales of heroin/opium with the Taliban’s buying of weapons in Afghanistan? This is a country where democracy has been eroded and men, women and children live in daily fear.

Would you ever think that cocaine could cause the deaths of farmers in Columbia, who are intimidated into producing it for drug barons? Did you ever consider how drugs travel? They are often transported in the bodies of mules, who if caught, can face death or a long stint in a foreign prison away from liberty, family and friends. Frequently these mules are vulnerable young women; often single parents who see the large lump sum paid-up on arrival as their ticket to freedom.

I am like any other young person - I am well versed in the health dangers of drugs, and well used to the arguments about the supposed greater dangers of legalised drugs. What I was never so clear about was the link between the cocaine that graces toilet bowls the country over and organised crime.

The nature of crime in our country has changed - you only have to watch RTE news to hear of yet another shooting in cold blood. These shootings are inextricably related to the drugs trade. Just over twelve years ago, the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin was both a severe tragedy and a terse reminder of the real threat drugs are to democracy. We must get real: Ireland has a serious drugs problem.

The drugs trade is a political hotcake. See for example, the late Dr. Mo Mowlan’s viewpoint on legalising the drugs trade as a way of isolating terrorists, as written in the Guardian, 19th September 2002.

Consider that drugs trade crackdown in the UK is failing miserably, as reported in the Independent on 30th July. This is despite reclassifying cannabis as the least dangerous drug with lesser penalties for possession.

Think about Fintan O’Toole’s argument in the Irish Independent (July 29th 2008), that “Illicit substances have been in demand here for at least 350 years; no legal measures have ever made a difference”:

Despite moral, legal, ethical and health arguments for or against drugs, they have financial gain at their forefront: a demand creates a supply.

Despite local legends enduring, not all drugs come from somebody’s attic up the road, or in a homemade lab stationed in the garage. The drugs trade is truly global, and the user is at the very end of the supply chain. The end product of a little pill, or a snort of coke and their subsequent use doesn’t rest so easily when you consider the journey these substances have made to the customer. Thus, the murder last night on the news is remotely linked to the user.

Gangland and drug related crime: Out of sight, out of mind? Such an attitude has resonance with one of the greatest human tragedies in the 20th Century - the Holocaust. Many averted their eyes to the abominable treatment of human beings until they realised they too were part of the final solution.

Standing up to drugs is a brave and noble action. Not only are you preserving your long term mental and physical health, you are also rejecting paramilitary and gang activity. Taking drugs is affording lifestyles to people who traffic human beings, prey on human weakness and disregard justice. Arguments of possible official involvement in the supply chain exist-a weak argument for condoning drug usage. We must accept our responsibilities as conscionable citizens, despite the examples set to us by institutions of power. If you are ever in doubt about the power of your action, remember Margaret Mead’s words:

“A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”

Nothing in the drugs trade is fun, glamorous and without repercussion. I urge young people to think harder and deeper about drug taking in Ireland today.

By: Annette Carter

For further information on the Drugs Trade internationally please visit http://www.unodc.org/unodc/index.html