Irish Examiner view: Citizens' Assembly asked vital questions for future good of society

We should thank everyone who has participated and given their time to consider one of the most important issues that we will face together for many years

Paul Reid and assembly members at the first Citizens' Assembly session on drug use back in April this year. Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

When the 99 members of the Citizens' Assembly look back on the work they have been undertaking since April to contemplate one of the most demanding and complex issues facing modern democratic societies — the extent and influence of drug use and how the State might legislate for it — they can reflect on the important service they have provided.

Irrespective of their recommendations on “balancing the risks” between changing Ireland’s drug laws and retaining them in their current form, which is unlikely suggests the mood music, they have fulfilled a formidable task listening to 150 experts and contemplating often contradictory opinions on law, health, crime, politics, and public behaviour.