“Matter of opinion on drugs, he was described as a major drug trafficker. Think we can assume it affected lots of people. There is an opinion that people like the Krays, Great train robbers etc become urban myths and their crimes are some how diminished. The victims are (always) often forgotten.”
I think there’s some truth in that. Although it could be argued that Marks was criminalised by a society that outlaws some drugs in favour of others, for the economic benefit of a select few. Marks has certainly been an excellent publicist for his own ‘brand’. I dare say he made a few quid from touring and giving talks to wide-eyed acolytes. He had a story to sell, and it seemed everyone was buying. People love a rogue.
But he didn’t act alone, and had associates ranging from terrorist organisations, to British aristocracy. I suspect the fact he seemed to get off with much lighter sentences than his ‘major drug trafficker’ persona would normally expect, suggests he had quite a few powerful connections. I bet quite a few people in high places are breathing a sigh of relief now he’s silent forever.
As for the drugs bit; alcohol is by far the most dangerous drug in our society, and it’s legal and it’s consumption even positively encouraged. It’s all about politics. Our entire financial system is fuelled by Cocaine. There is more Heroin on the streets of the UK than ever before, due to war in Afghanistan. And modern, UK produced ‘Skunk’ is far more powerful than the hash and weed Marks etc used to smuggle.
There are far worse people than Howard Marks ever was, and some of them are leaders of nations. Marks was a relatively little fish in a pond full of sharks.