Why Inform?

  The following quotes are from "Drugs and Ships" by Kenneth Luck, International Maritime Organization, London England:
 "During the latter part of the twentieth century, illicit drugs have become the scourge of the civilised world threatening not only the health and life of the community but the very fabric of the society in which we live.
  Their use commands the attention of governments, politicians, businessmen, in fact everyone down to the man and woman in the street".
  "No-one will suggest that the fight is going to be easy....But that is not to say that every individual, if only in a small way, cannot and should not, do something to help."
  "Drugs are of concern to everyone.
  They kill, they maim, they destroy quality of life. They undermine economies, wreck families ( I have personally experienced this with my own family) and both promote and sustain many types of criminal activity.(I have personally seen this with my own family.)
  The drug habit recognises no barriers of colour, race, creed, politics, sex, age, social standing-in fact the habit respects nothing and no-one."
  "If only one life is saved as a consequence, the effort will have been worthwhile."
 " Whilst the efforts of  Popeye Doyle (Gene Hackman) in the "French Connection" films were great entertainment, the real world of crime investigation-and drug trafficking in particular-is something totally different.
  One of the factors which makes effective investigation so difficult is the nature of the enemy which is, to employ an already over-used expression, "organized crime"."
  "In cannabis trafficking there will be found the large multi-national organizations providing sophisticated operations in production, transport and distribution very much in parallel with the cocaine and heroin systems."
  "By way of summary, it is fair to say that if drugs in quanity are to be considered the problem, then it has to be accepted that the enemy is organised crime. Not only is it organised but it is funded to a degree which makes the national budgets allocated for anti-drug campaigns look like the petty cash box.
  The answer can only lie in concerted, co-ordinated positive action in which, to correct the imbalance of funding, the utmost use is made of intelligence from all possible sources."
  "Drug trafficking is playing for very high stakes and there are enormous resources behind the operation.
Therefore great care should be taken when dealing with any aspect of drugs. The criminals are violent and will use force without hesitation even with fatal results."
  "Why Should I Do Anything?"
 " ...I can be just like those three monkeys-"hear nothing, see nothing and say nothing." In that way I get no bother."
 "Whilst everyone will know, deep down, what is right and what is wrong and we are pleased when a criminal gets caught, there is still that something, somewhere, that makes us hope that it's the other guy who has to do it. We don't much care what happens as long as it's "not-in-my-back-yard".
  And yet, somewhere...
  The fridge door in the mortuary is pulled open and a cotton covered body is pulled out. The face is exposed by the attendant. A voice straining to stifle the sob that comes to the throat says, "Yes, that's her, that's my daughter....
  This isn't fiction, it is fact.
  In developed countries of the world, addicts are now numbered in millions and each is on the road which can eventually lead to the morgue.
  There's not a day goes by but someone, somewhere in the world, dies-not just because of drugs alone but because someone, somewhere, who could have done something, did nothing.
  Not only is there the question of the addiction itself, but the drug scene is the breeding grounds for all type of crime.
  Washington, instead of being the Garden Capital of the States is the Murder Capital of the country with the majority of these crimes caused by drugs, either as an effect of the habit or in battles amongst pushers for selling grounds.
  We are now seeing instances where infants are being born with AIDS as a result of their addicted mothers sharing infected needles with an AIDS sufferer during pregnancy.
  And all this happens because too many people keep too quiet for too long.
  It is not easy to bring yourself to inform.
  And yet, because of the consequences which may, eventually, affect you and your family, is there really any contest?
  No, not really."
  "As was said in the Introduction to this book "If only one life is saved as a consequence, the effort will have been well worthwhile.""

"Drugs and Ships" was written for sea captains and seamen throughout the world but is relevant for everyone.
  Captain Bill Schweizer, U.S.M.M.