‘Grave concerns’ over handling of Ireland’s Citizens’ Assembly on drugs

Advocates for drug reform in Ireland have expressed ‘serious and grave concerns’ over the handling of the Citizens’ Assembly on drugs. 

The first official meeting of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drug Use in Ireland took place this weekend, with 100 members hearing a range of international perspectives on drug prevention, treatment, crime, rehabilitation and human rights.

However, the handling of the Assembly so far has faced criticism from experts in health, drug policy and support services, who accused the process of lacking integrity and transparency. 

The Citizens’ Assembly was set up following resolutions in Dáil and Seanad Éireann, to examine and make recommendations on the country’s drug policy and reduce the harms of illicit drugs on individuals and the wider community. 

Former CEO of Ireland’s Health Service Executive (HSE) Paul Reid was appointed as the chairperson by Taoiseach [Prime Minister] Leo Varadkar in late February, with 99 members of the public chosen at random to participate. 

Following initial worries that Reid was too closely associated with the existing policy, drug reform advocates have now expressed ‘grave concerns’ that the assembly is failing to operate in an ‘open and transparent manner’.

In an open letter to the Taoiseach, several Dáil Éireann TDs along with representatives from the legal, policy and health sectors, have questioned the integrity of the process.

“The terms of reference require that the Assembly ‘operate in an open and transparent manner’, the letter states.

“We have grave concerns that this vital requirement is not being met.”

It claims that initial information sessions were held at short notice, without prior public announcement and with an ‘exclusive list of invitees’. Additionally members of an Advisory Support Group were appointed at the end of March ‘behind closed doors’. 

“These issues go directly to the integrity of the process for Citizens’ Assemblies,” the letter continues.

“Up to now these have been highly successful exercises in participatory democracy, particularly those on Gender Equality and the Eighth Amendment. It is vital that the integrity of this process is restored for Drugs Use and future assemblies.”

Conflicts of interest?

The Advisory Support Group includes several members of the Cannabis Risk Alliance, a group of doctors which according to its Twitter profile, ‘aims to educate public, health professionals and policy makers about risks of cannabis use and role of cannabis laws’.

Most notable is the appointment of Professor Mary Cannon, an epidemiology psychiatrist who has been a prominent voice against legalisation.

Professor Mary Cannon. Credit: Citizens’ Assembly/YouTube

In an article published in the Irish Times on Tuesday 11 April, ‘a group of 21 doctors’, including the moderator of the Cannabis Risk Alliance, Dr Ray Walley, claims the government is failing to counteract ‘relentless pro-cannabis messaging’ in the media with factual information about its harms.

The Irish Times reports: “The group, which includes specialists in addiction, emergency medicine, psychiatry, neurology and general practice, describes the upcoming Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use as ‘an opportunity to move on from the endless conversation about legislation and to give renewed priority to the more important issues of prevention and treatment’.”

The outlet describes those behind these comments as a ‘broadly similar group of doctors’ to the 20 members of the Cannabis Risk Alliance which claimed Ireland was ‘sleepwalking’ into the legalisation of cannabis on a ‘campaign of misinformation’ four years ago. 

Professor Cannon herself was quoted in the Irish Examiner at the time, as saying: “Cannabis use is associated with an increased risk for psychosis, suicidal behaviours, and other mental disorders. These risks have been consistently shown in large international studies.

“The evidence for the harms associated with cannabis use is much, much stronger than any evidence for its use as a ‘medicine’.”

‘Serious and grave concerns’

Peter Reynolds, who is chair of the Cannabis Industry Council’s Ireland Working Group, and a longstanding campaigner for the legalisation of cannabis, says no attempt was made to invite anyone advocating for drug policy reform to join the Advisory Support Group. 

“There are very serious and grave concerns about whether or not this has been run in an open and transparent manner,” he told Cannabis Health. 

“The terms of reference for the Citizens’ Assembly set out quite clearly how things are supposed to happen and yet they’re being roughshod over right from the very beginning. 

“They appointed the advisory group behind closed doors and there isn’t a single drug policy expert in it, the majority of members are addiction specialists. These people have specifically campaigned against its legalisation.”

He added: “There was no opportunity for anybody to apply to be on it, or any effort to invite anyone with opposing views.”

Reynolds has written to Mr Reid addressing these concerns directly, but says he did not receive an adequate response to his questions.

Chair, Paul Reid. Credit: Citizens’ Assembly/YouTube

“The whole idea of an assembly on drug use is that the policy isn’t working at the moment and there needs to be change. The very establishment of it suggests that in itself,” Mr Reynolds continued.

“But who do they choose to chair it? The man who was the chief executive of the HSE, in other words, the man who is directly associated and responsible for the existing policy.”

According to information provided by the Assembly, the chairperson’s primary role is to facilitate, ‘in an independent fashion, the orderly conduct of meetings, ensuring that the process runs in accordance with the Terms of Reference, governing principles and rules and procedures, and that there is a well-rounded and balanced approach to meetings, with all sides of the arguments being afforded due consideration’. 

Following a number of meetings the Assembly is required to submit a report and recommendation(s) to the Houses of the Oireachtas by the end of 2023.

“I do fear there may be an attempt to bully the members of the assembly into only listening to one narrative,” said Mr Reynolds. 

He added: “There is an immense opportunity here to get the real voice of the people out there, and yet right from the beginning they seem to be structuring it in such a way that it is completely biassed and swayed in one direction.”

‘Optimistic’ following the inaugural meeting

The first public meeting took place from Saturday 15 April-Sunday 16 April. 

Day one focused on drug use trends and the harmful impacts of drug use, with a number of speakers sharing their personal perspectives and lived experience. On Sunday morning, this was followed by presentations on behalf of government agencies, including the Department of Health, Department of Justice and the Garda [police].

Speaking to Cannabis Health after the meeting Mr Reynolds said he was ‘optimistic’ now that the process was underway and praised Mr Reid for how he chaired the event. 

“I’m feeling very positive following the first event. I was inspired by members of the public, who asked very intelligent, incisive questions and really challenged a number of the things that were said by people from various government agencies,” he said.

“I’m very optimistic that if the members of the public assembly continue with this approach, we should get a very good, evidence-based outcome.”

However the previous concerns about potential biases of some members of the Advisory Group still exist. 

A Q&A panel at the first public meeting of the Assembly. Credit: Citizens’ Assembly/YouTube

He added: “Professor Mary Cannon only spoke briefly, but as soon as she opened her mouth she started advocating for prevention and prohibition, which was exactly what the chairman had said she wouldn’t be allowed to do. She was there to provide impartial advice, but literally the minute she opened her mouth she broke the rules.”

In response to the question of whether education on the potential risks and responsible consumption of drugs should be encouraged over prohibition, Professor Cannon said: “I feel that you could have unintended consequences by making drug use more acceptable and that the education aspect would then be affected because young people are heavily influenced by what’s going on in society, by their parents, by their peers. All the education in the world probably won’t make much of a difference if society is heading in the opposite direction and if society makes the decision to make drug use more normalised, young people will pick up on that.

“For instance… you need to put traffic laws in place to make sure that people that the roads are safe. I don’t think education by itself is the answer here, but I agree it definitely has a place.”

Response from the Citizens’ Assembly

Cannabis Health contacted the Citizens’ Assembly and put the claims to them. We also reached out to Professor Mary Cannon directly but was told she was ‘not in a position to comment’ at the time. 

A spokesperson from the Citizens’ Assembly said: “An Advisory Support Group has been established for this Assembly. This comprises an experienced and diverse group of people to support the important work of the Assembly, and to support the Assembly members and Chairperson. [The full list of members is available here and the role of the Advisory Support Group is outlined here]

“Other ad-hoc groups may be established as necessary to support the work of the Assembly as it develops and proceeds through its work programme. For example, a Lived Experience Group has been established to inform the work of the Assembly. There will be a nominee from the Lived Experience Group on the Advisory Support Group.”

[The list of members of the Lived Experience Group is available here]

They continued: “In order to form an Assembly with as many viewpoints and representation of Irish life as possible, invitation letters were sent to 20,000 randomly selected addresses across Ireland from An Post’s GeoDirectory database. Of those who responded with an expression of interest, the next phase of the recruitment process was to randomly select members of the general public who will be broadly representative of wider society in terms of demographics, e.g. age, sex, geographical location and socio-economic group. 

“This should help ensure that the spectrum of opinion, and lived experience of drug use among the members broadly mirrors that of the wider population. However, additional measures will be taken to ensure that the voice and perspective of vulnerable and marginalised groups is represented through the design of the programme and choice of speakers.

 “Members of the Assembly will be asked to spend several weekends (all day Saturday, and Sunday mornings) from April until the end of the year discussing the relevant issues, listening to national and international experts and representative groups, as well as hearing from those with lived experiences. They will have the opportunity to discuss, question, and share views with fellow members in order to reach informed and consensus-style recommendations for the Oireachtas.

“Submissions are an important part of the deliberative democratic process as they provide an opportunity for the general public, experts in the field, and those with personal experiences to share their views and have their voice included in the discussion. 

“Further information on how to make a submission will be made available within the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use area of the website in the coming weeks.”

The Assembly sessions are available to watch live via www.citizensassembly.ie

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