Ireland, 2012. Drug Wars rage. Not as you’d imagine though. The Gangs are fighting each other for control of their areas. A Turf War is raging.

What the Citizen would like to see is The State taking on these Criminal Gangs and winning. What chance have we of attaining that satisfaction ? None whatsoever ! I am not a criminal lawyer and so do not have the insights into the workings of the criminal gangs in Dublin and throughout the entire country, but I am practising law now for more than thirty years and that in itself has enlightened me to what is actually going on.

I see families devastated as a result of their children being addicts and more who lose children to both the drugs themselves as well as being the targets of the actual gangs distributing the deadly ‘stuff’. This hasn’t happened overnight but has steadily grown from the 1970s when, if there was a political will to target the issue at that early stage, we could and would have been saved from this cancer which is destroying the very fabric of our society.

We read sensational pieces daily in the tabloids. We are shocked but also fascinated by the gangland out there and this fascination leads us to rush to the shops to purchase Paul William’s latest offering in whatever newspaper has signed him up, or indeed one of his best selling Books, dishing up the latest sensational offerings and insights into what is really happening. We are disgusted but fascinated. I sometimes wonder what we would do on a Sunday afternoon if we were starved of the latest Revelations. Sunday just might not be worth living !

While MrA and HoodieB and HatchetC are focused on as the New Mr Big, I sometimes wonder how some of these questionable individuals could actually be running such sophisticated operations. If we are to believe the Spin then they do and are public enemy number one. We get agitated as to why the State does not ‘get’ these individuals. Well, I for one do not believe all I read and have held the view for some time, that no serious attempt will ever be made to tackle this crime. None.

Over the years I’ve listened to many a frustrated Garda who, while pulling out his/her hair, has enlightened me to what they believe, is actually going on. Why the lack of resources ? Lack of manpower. No serious attempt to tackle this attack on the citizens of our State? Well simply put, they are targeting the wrong individuals. They know this. MrA, HoodieB and Hatchet C, are just foot soldiers of Mr Big. Mr Big himself is one of society’s gentlemen. Respected and beyond reproach. Mr Big, is in fact protected by the State. In fact, he might indeed be in Leinster House itself. But seriously, how can I say such outrageous things? Well, surely those I’ve spoken to in the Gardai cannot all be mistaken. They are angry. They feel used and abused and indeed their lives are in constant danger. No longer are the public outraged and angered by the assassination of Veronica Guerin when our Government Ministers were propelled into action to apprehend her killers. What do the Gardai who worked on her case actually think of what has happened subsequently? Well not a lot. Now with the Minister for Justice, following in the footsteps of his esteemed predecessors, determined to further diminish the resources available to them…well they are demoralised and wonder why we have a Drug Squad at all.

A possible solution and indeed one which has been dismissed by the Government out of hand, has been to legalise drugs, all drugs. Bring in legislation which makes the importation and distribution of all drugs legal. Set up a well funded Regulatory Body to control the whole industry. And indeed it is an industry. Impose High Taxes. Well, it could bring in the Billions of Euro needed to rescue our economy as well as rescue those poor citizens who are addicted to these same substances. Every user must register with the Health Boards and in so doing will be entitled to treatment. For once the victims will have a refuge and people who care about them, while Mr Big, if he is ever uncovered, will have to declare his vast income and pay up his taxes.

While I might dream of a bloody but successful end to the Drugs War with the decriminalisation of Unlawful substances in this State, it will never be allowed happen. Mr Big has too much to lose. Mr Big is of course a respectable businessman you must remember. The Troica are here to stay and they determine where our resources can be deployed. They have already determined where our priorities should be and a War with Mr Big is not on the Agenda. Sure Mr Big would be in good company as he no doubt is instrumental in the imposition of the Troica on us in the first place.

If we’re serious about tackling the Real Drug Barons, society must change radically, puting the interests of the Citizen first. Well Enda, fancy tackling Mr Big ?

LegalEagleStar , Monday , 13th. February , 2012

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