Last week, too, the garda commissioner proposed that possession of small amounts of cannabis would be the subject of a caution from a superintendent rather than a prosecution through the courts.
The Department of Justice denies that McDowell told the gardai to drop the plan. But the justice minister did tell the commissioner that it would not “sit comfortably” with him. Clearly the commissioner doesn’t like his ministers sitting uncomfortably. The proposal disappeared on Tuesday.
If McDowell is to be logically consistent, and wants the rest of us to be morally consistent, then he did the right thing. It’s either a crime or it’s not. This position I can respect.
So what is the dope-smoking population who don’t see themselves as criminals to do? It would help if everybody stopped being so coy about their personal use. How can we have an intelligent debate about a common habit if everyone has to pretend they don’t do it? The joke about politicians not inhaling has worn thin. We have grown used to the concept that consenting adults can pretty much do what they want in the bedroom once they are not affecting anyone else; the same logic applies to rolling a joint at home.
If the worst thing about cannabis is the involvement with criminals, then take them out of the equation. Forget about downgrading possession from a mortal to a venal sin. They did it in England and are thinking of changing their minds. The way forward is not decriminalisation but commercialisation. Brand it, market it and sell it from a licensed premises to over-18s. Tax the hell out of it. The quality would improve immensely and the price wouldn’t go up much. The costs of marketing would simply replace the percentage going on bribes, and losses through seizures. To completely remove the criminal element, this must be done on a global scale.
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This may sound glib or stupid, but not if you think about it. Apart from its arbitrary illegality, where is the actual harm in taking cannabis? Yes, it is a drug, by which we mean a chemical either naturally or artificially cultivated. There are pleasurable side effects, which is why people take it. It makes you feel relaxed and a bit giggly, with the occasional attack of the munchies. For some people, it just makes them feel sleepy. With no quality control system, the most likely risk is from whatever it’s been mixed with or from the tobacco in the joint.
There are negative effects. There may be a link between schizophrenia and heavy dope smoking. A small minority of users can become overly dependent, and not want to get out of bed in the morning. But it’s not addictive like harder drugs or commonly prescribed medications.
On the upside, it has medical benefits. It is fully established that cannabis is effective in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, among other conditions.
If the very thought of legalising cannabis frightens you, but you’re not sure why, compare it to alcohol. There are many differences between drink and cannabis; social acceptability being the main one. On a personal level, how many families do you know that have been destroyed by alcohol? Plenty, I’d say. How many do you know ruined by cannabis dependency? I can’t think of one.
For young men aged between 15 and 29, alcohol contributes to nearly half of all deaths from motor vehicle accidents; one third of poisonings, drownings, homicides and falls; and one fifth of suicides. For young women, alcohol contributes to about one in three of all deaths from poisonings, drownings and homicides, and one in five deaths from motor vehicle accidents and falls.
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As the second task force on alcohol report says: “Alcohol-related harm happens to those who don’t drink; drink small amounts but in a risky situation; those who drink to excess sometimes; and those who regularly abuse alcohol.” In 2003, a conservative estimate put the cost of alcohol to Irish society at €2.65 billion. Yet in that same society, people who don’t drink are considered odd.
Every night hundreds of people get smashed, end up in A&E, fight, drive drunk, get an ulcer, and then show up late for work because they’re hungover. But if I rolled a joint, which is likely to make me passive rather than violent, and sleepy rather than teary, I’m the one breaking the law.
If alcohol was invented tomorrow, any right-thinking person would immediately call for its prohibition. They tried that in America between 1920 and 1933 and it was a total failure. Why? Consumption dropped at the start, which was the goal of prohibition. But it soon picked up again, except this time the quality had deteriorated and it became more dangerous to consume.
Acquiring alcohol brought otherwise decent citizens into contact with criminal gangs who organised and flourished. The justice system was swamped. No measurable gains were made in work productivity or reduced absenteeism. Contact with dealers led some people into contact with other drugs such as cocaine or heroin. And the government lost important revenue from its taxation. The whole thing was a disaster.
Now substitute the word cannabis for alcohol, and you have a picture of what’s happening in western society. The ban on cannabis is purely cultural. Alcohol has disastrous effects on our society, but we take the view that it is up to the individual to monitor his or her own use. We rely on the government to educate, regulate and treat those who fall by the wayside.
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The negative effects of cannabis are significantly less than alcohol and yet we refuse to take the same approach. Instead, western democracies play around with changing classifications.
People turn to drugs — legal, illegal and prescribed — because they are bored, unhappy, helpless, lonely and, in many cases, poor. Let’s spend the money helping them instead of wasting it by arresting harmless folk like me.