I really feel the debate on head shops is lacking a couple of vital insights which I think must be highlighted, particularly in light of the holier-than-thou organisations seeking to have them closed, lock, stock and barrel.

Firstly, the fact that head shops are opening at all indicates that there is a significant demand for such products, and it would be wise to acknowledge this.

People who wish to alter their minds -- be it with alcohol, herbs, or chemicals -- will always find someone to satisfy their needs. It is clear to me that the clandestine culture of drug supply that has developed over the past decade or so has had an entirely negative social impact. Drug users have become marginalised, while drug suppliers have become incredibly vicious and violent, to such an extent that they now, in some cases, pose a threat to the state.

I believe the State has a duty to acknowledge the wishes of a significant proportion of the citizenry who wish to experiment with these substances. Taking control of the problem is far more effective than trying to wish it away. Anecdotally, there has been a reduction in Dublin's north inner city in the rate of contraband sold over the past few months, and surely this is to be welcomed?

A proper and mature approach to this issue could improve thousands of lives, by taking substance abuse out of the underworld and into the plain light of day. Information and assistance would be more readily available to those who experience difficulty, and organised crime would lose a major source of its income.

Further, the allure of such substances would be dulled by the fact that it was no longer a subversive act; no longer a rebellious act to indulge. That is a major factor in a lot of early drug use.

The wholesale banning of head shops as called for by those naive marchers will also have knock-on effects in society.

They are effectively calling for a Napoleonic code of law to be introduced, where substances can only be sold once granted a licence.

Thus, you can say without a shadow of a doubt that that will be the end of natural health stores, too.

I would call on those who would march against head shops to consider the opportunity we have here to bring huge numbers of our youth out of the underworld of drug dealing and allow them to make choices, for right or wrong, on what they put into their bodies. For the most part they will do it anyway; the only question is who supplies.

Caoimheann O Faolain

Dublin 1



Irish Independent