The Frontline Blog
On tonight's show...
Monday, 01 Mar 2010The clamour for so-called `head shops' to be forcibly closed seems to grow by the week. Some campaigners and medical experts say that not only are the "legal highs" that they sell potentially dangerous but they're also introducing a whole new class of people to drugs - people who would never have taken illegal narcotics.
And yet, head shops can also be seen as proof that the "war on drugs" is a folly that cannot succeed. If the products that they sell - which imitate illegal drugs like ecstasy and cocaine while staying on the right side of the law - are specifically banned then surely the producers of those products will be ingenious enough to come up with replacements which are just as effective but also legal..
Where does it end? Is it possible to ban every mind-altering substance that people choose to take or is now the time to decide that it's better for drugs to be legal, visible and regulated than for this multi-billion industry to remain in the hands of criminal gangs? Some argue that the logical next step is to legalise cannabis, ecstasy and even heroin. But would that lead inevitably to a much increased intake of those drugs with all the devastating personal and societal consequences that could follow?
That's one of our subjects tonight and we'll be joined by those who want head shops consigned to the dustbin and those who say we should face the inevitable and legalise drugs completely.
Also, how do you feel about the likelihood that the state is about to invest a further €10- €15 billion (possibly more) of taxpayers money into our ailing banks? Is it madness to sink that kind of money into private banks with little prospect that much of it will ever come back to us? Is it really true that we have no choice? We'll be joined by an economist who says we should walk away from the banks now - also with us will be Brian Lucey of TCD who has led the charge against NAMA and thinks the Government's policy on the banks is delaying the inevitable and damaging the economy further.
Promises to be lively and informative.
Let us know what you think by posting your comment below or by emailing us at thefrontline@rte.ie
Posted by Stephen on March 01, 2010 at 11:19 PM GMT #