Madam, - Shane Hegarty, writing about middle-class drug use (Opinion & Analysis, November 29th) is right when he says that a fall in demand for recreational drugs would do more to reduce gangland killings than anything the Government and the Garda can do. The rewards are so massive that killing is seen as a necessary part of the business in order to protect a share of the market.
The sooner the Government admits what we all know - that it is impossible to cut off the supply of drugs - the sooner will the State come to terms with what must be done.
We, as a society, must make it clear that any type of illicit drug use is unacceptable and that we will do whatever is necessary to stop it. We must ensure that anyone found in possession of drugs, whether for personal use or not, will face being convicted of a real crime. Fines should not be an option. A conviction should carry, at the minimum, a community service order, and a repeat conviction should mean a spell in jail.
Are we concerned enough to go that far? We will be when the gangs get tired of killing each other and turn on the rest of us. - Yours, etc,
JIM FINAN, Curragh, Castlebar, Co Mayo.