Anthony Fay: Government passes parcel to Citizens' Assembly to consider drugs use policy 

Any plan to legalise drugs must be done in the context of wider societal reform

Proponents and lobbyists will advocate that cannabis is safer than alcohol and as often argued in the US, a better alternative to the opiate crisis. Picture: PA Wire

The Government has passed the parcel to the Citizens' Assembly to consider drugs use under the Our Shared Future' Programme. This parcel won’t be vacuum packed with illicit substances but instead with terms of reference, potentially to consider alternative approaches to the possession of drugs for personal use. 

The approach implicitly recognises that drug use is ubiquitous in Ireland. The distinct smell of cannabis, for example, is no stranger on a summer’s evening in a park, at a barbecue or concert.