Would you like some Heroin with your Cannabis?

Yet again a recent raid here in Ireland highlights the dangers created by the prohibition of drugs. Gardai in Tipperary carried out a raid on a house in Nenagh on Friday 17th of September in relation to burglary. At the property they found quantities of heroin & cannabis. One male was arrested and later charged in relation to a burglary reported in the Silver Street area a week previously. 

As a cannabis consumer I find it very worrying that those who are selling cannabis are also involved in the selling of other drugs like heroin. Luckily for me I get my Cannabis from a friend who grows it but many of you out there are forced to buy from the black market. In doing so you have no protections afforded to you as a consumer. The products you are buying are completely unregulated and the organisations you are supporting with your purchase might not be the most ethical

In this case there are a number of dangers highlighted that are created by prohibition. The first being how is the cannabis and heroin being stored? Are they near each other? Could this cannabis now be contaminated by heroin because of improper storage and handling? Do you as a consumer want to be unknowingly consuming heroin with your Cannabis? If you don't then my advice would be to grow your own or to get it from someone who is growing it themselves. By doing this you can distance yourself from organised crime gangs while getting some better information (plant genetics) about what you're consuming. 

Growing your own might not always be possible and that's certainly the case for a curious teenager who could end up buying cannabis from this individual. Before he or she knows it they’re storing heroin to pay off a debt they generated getting cannabis. We have heard many stories like this here in the Irish court system and we will continue to hear them until we end this prohibition. 

By legalising and regulating the sale and supply of cannabis it will no longer be sold by thieves or members of organised crime gangs. No, instead it will be sold by someone similar to your local bar owner. Your local bar owner is bound by regulations that protect consumers. Regulations like not selling to anyone under age and not selling alcohol that was brewed in the bathtub of a local gang. The local bar owners also pay their staff decent wages and they generate tax revenue on the products they sell. Why do we not do this for Cannabis? It's not as if it's not already available everywhere including on apps popular with kids like snapchat and instagram.