Ending Gun crime requires a ‘harm reduction’ approach to drug use

Ending Gun crime requires a ‘harm reduction’ approach to drug use

Rarely does a week pass that there are reports of a shooting in the suburbs of Dublin. The main victim of the shooting is usually a young male between the ages of 19-23. Usually it’s a fast assassination and few witnesses are available to give evidence. The person shot is usually almost always never referred to as a ‘victim’. Instead they are classed by the media as ‘Known to the Gardai’. This is code for, “He was a Drug Dealer or involved in the Drugs Trade in someway”.

On occasion there is someone caught in the crossfire as recently occurred several months ago in North Dublin when a young woman was hit by a spray of bullets fired from a passing car. To be classed as a ‘victim’ one must not be known to the Gardai. The Gardai are essentially sitting back and allowing the situation to spiral out of control. It seems that they see inter-gang feuds as a way of containing the drug problem in Ireland. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The ‘War on Drugs’ is over, the Gardai have lost.

The Gangs that control the drugs business in Ireland have a huge incentive to keep drugs illegal. The Drugs trade is completely unregulated, untaxed and has massive profits. The barriers to entry are hierarchical and controlled by the suppliers. This way the number of suppliers is maintained at a level that ensures massive profits are returned to the gangs that control the drugs trade. It is professionally recognised that ‘Drug Busts’ only can detect a maximum of 10% of the volume of drugs for supply.

Huge profits can encourage an entrepreneurial young dealer to set up their own supply chain. This causes battles for control of the market in certain areas with saturated drugs businesses. Agreements are made and broken. Contract enforcement in gang culture is very efficient. ‘You break the deal’ ‘You take a bullet’.

Currently the government’s policy on drugs is one of high moral standing. Drugs are wrong so they are totally illegal. If you use them you go to prison. Criminalising drug users is not an effective way of discouraging drug the fact that Drugs are illegal is no disincentive to whether someone wants to use them or not. Labour as a party of an equal and fair society should be boldly calling for a policy of ‘Harm Reduction’.

Harm Reduction is setting the rules so that they case the least possible harm to society. The current draconian policy of ‘zero-tolerance’ causes more problems than it solves. Ireland’s prisons are full of teenagers and young adults who have been caught with drugs on a continual basis. We have more people in prisons per head of population than any other time since the foundation of the state.

Harm reduction in terms of Drug law is legalising all drugs, regulating the supply of drugs and controlling it directly via state suppliers, charging VAT on the sale of drugs and legislating where drugs can be used. This will help ensure that the only people who are legally sold drugs are over the age of 18. Presently there is no law to stop your local drug gang supplying 12 year olds with drugs.

Hard drugs such as Cocaine, Heroin and Crack are highly addictive and by legalising them it will allow for their treatment to take place in a much more humane and less-taboo fashion. Soft Drug such as Ecstasy, Magic Mushrooms and Cannabis have not yet been proven addictive. Decriminalisation is a non-runner as this will only help the gangs to continue what they are already doing but reduce their worry about being charged. Full Legalisation is the only way the state can properly regulate the drugs trade and reduce the harm that drugs cause. The moral solution is a fantasy as well as the idea that a 'War on Drugs' can been won by criminalising the 20% of people under 35 who have used Drugs at some point int he last year.