Madam, - The sad death of Shane Geoghegan has aroused much debate in media about how gangland crime is to be dealt with. One aspect of this despicable underworld that remains largely overlooked is the income of these gangs.
Casual drug use is their main source of revenue. In short, "scoring coke" means subsiding crime, including murder, and all recreational drug-users need to acknowledge their own role in the current spiral of violence. - Yours, etc,
Madam, - Your Editorial of November 11th contains a common logical fallacy.
You argue that recreational drug users need to be aware of the harm they are causing. However, what if it can be argued, as it can be quite strongly with regard to marijuana, that the principle set by the legality of alcohol and tobacco means that there is nothing other than illegality intrinsically wrong with purchasing the drug?
If this is the case, then the active cause of the harm is the illegality itself, since this is what turns an acceptable action into a harmful one. Perhaps, then, The Irish Times should, in the interest of reducing harms to society, lobby the government for the legalisation of marijuana.
In any case, on the practical side of things, if we cannot (and it is blindingly obvious that we cannot) prevent marijuana from being purchased, then the funding it provides for criminal elements should be more than enough reason to legalise the drug.
To look at this from another angle, which response to this latest tragedy do you think the criminal element would least desire? - Yours, etc,