Sir, – Brian Lougheed (July 2nd) writes, “I see no reason why drug dealers, couriers and growers should not be tried and if found guilty executed.”
Mr Lougheed might wish to familiarise himself with Article 15.5.2 of our Constitution, which prohibits the use of the death penalty.
As well as this, the enactment of any law that allowed for the imposition of the death penalty would require Ireland to leave the Council of Europe. – Yours, etc,
A chara, – On Brian Lougheed’s proposed Singaporean solution to our drug problem: perhaps he would extend his thinking to the thousands of deaths attributed annually to alcohol abuse? If so, would he regard execution of hops-growers, truck drivers and barmen as an appropriate reaction? If not, maybe he could explain why he regards alcohol as less harmful than the “drugs” he is concerned with? – Is mise,
Sir, – An authoritarian approach to this matter is the last thing we need. On the contrary, a complete liberalisation of existing drug policy would have far more beneficial effects on society.
More liberal drug laws would generate potentially millions of euro for the exchequer in VAT and PAYE from jobs created. Huge savings would also be incurred from a legal perspective as vast quantities of money would no longer be wasted by police, judges or prisons in the hopeless attempt at fighting an unwinnable war.
From a public health point of view, while there could be an increased incidence of drug use after legalisation (and this is by no means guaranteed – see the Netherlands and Portugal), this is a risk worth taking.
Prohibition of drugs has been a disastrous failure in terms of lives cut short or ruined by incarceration, and taxpayers’ money wasted.
It has also resulted in the virtual criminalisation of the bottom rungs of society, who are the ones most likely to get involved in the illegal drug trade at present. And who can blame them – growing up with few opportunities, a perceived “get rich quick scheme”, however dangerous, is something many disadvantaged youths seize with both hands.
Drug prohibition will eventually be looked back on as one of the greatest follies of the 20th and 21st centuries. As we now view alcohol prohibition in the US in the 1920s, so will future generations laugh at our failed attempts at discouraging one of the basic human drives: sensation-seeking. Psychoactive drugs have been used since prehistoric times and will always be used for as long as humans exist on Earth. – Yours, etc,