The Man

I was planning to write something today about job titles. The thinking behind it being that I am going to on another Pueblo Ingles programme tomorrow (Volcano permitting) and I was imagining that when people ask me what I do I would tell them I am a writer. Even though I’ve never actually made any money from writing, other than the IR£10 pounds I won in ‘93 for a short story about ‘Drug abuse in the Inner City’ (it goes on, you know).

Like I said that was my plan. And I might write about that later when I’ve had a couple of drinks and am feeling a little more jovial. At the moment I am just too amazed by two of the most mind fuddling, brain dead, head-in-the-arse, petty bureaucratic decisions I have ever come been unfortunate enough to come across.

The first one is one that happened in the UK. A young man by the name of Paul Chambers, who was training to become a chartered accountant, was due to catch a flight from Yorkshire to Belfast in January. You remember January. Cold, snow, pretty miserable. Paul was worried when he heard that the airport was closed due to weather and was a bit miffed. He, like I have often done, decided to share his frustration with cyberspace.

Paul posted this on his twitter a/c. "Crap! Robin Hood Airport is closed. You've got a week... otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!" Not particularly funny but not something that anyone would take as serious bomb threat.

Unless of course you are were the Doncaster Police and the Criminal Prosecution Service in the UK. Paul has just been found guilty under the Communications Act of sending and indecent, obscene or menacing act. He was fined 1000 sterling and now has a criminal record. He can no longer become a chartered accountant with a criminal record and I imagine he will have a great time trying to get access to countries like the USA.

I’m not the greatest legal or political commentator. This blog here goes explains legally how this is so unbelievably unjust and covers the matter in more detail than I could do justice to. There is also a really good post about the absurdity of it all by Father Ted and Black Books writer Graham Linehan here. I’m just amazed that this can happen and that despite what I always believed about freedom of speech and expression, a man is being punished for an ill conceived comment.

At least that happened in the UK, right? There would be no such boneheaded decisions by Irish policy makers? And yet here we are. 2010, and our government have without resort to consultation or proof or reason, have banned a number of substances sold in ‘Head shops.’

These substances ‘mimic’ the effects of illegal drugs such as cocaine, cannabis and ecstasy. How do they know? What testing have they done. What evidence is there that these ‘legal highs’ are any more dangerous than the 24 bottles of Carlsberg that you can pick up in your local convenience store.

If, that’s if underlined, they are as harmful to people and society as the average Joe Duffy listener claims, then fair enough. I’m behind banning them. However what I’m not behind is the legislation that was brought in today to do so. This little piece of governmental people control states that An Garda Siochanna have the right to seek a court order to shut down any of the shops they ‘suspect’ of selling these newly illegal substances with the onus being on the shop owner to prove that they haven’t.

So basically if a garda is not happy with one of these shops he or she can set into motion the process of getting a legitimate business shut down on the grounds of nothing more than a suspicion. Anyone who is naïve enough to assume that every member of our police force is beyond reproach is in for an eye opener. How long before claims (false and true) are bandied about Garda taking or demanding bribes?

It also says a lot for the short sightedness of the government. Heaven forbid that someone is trying to make a living. It certainly seems by the increase in the number of these shops that it is a thriving industry in a time when we don’t have a lot of thriving industries. Maybe regulation, rather than criminalising is what is required here.

I know what you are going to say. “Won’t someone please think of the children?” I have news for you. If your child wants to get high, they are going to get high. Surely its better that they get something that can be monitored and regulated as opposed to the stuff they buy on the streets that could be cut with all kinds of poisons far worse than the narcotic itself.? Just an idea

Oh and in case anyone is wondering. I’ve never been in a head shop. I’ve never bought any ‘legal highs’. I only found out today while researching that they are things called mephadrone and spice products.

I just think we need to be more aware of how are liberties are encroached on everyday. I remember when I was kid and I was doing something a bit smart alec-y and someone would tell me stop. I’d come back with the always witty “it’s a free country.” Ah, the innocence of youth.