FOLLOWING ITS FIRST meeting last month, the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use is calling on the public and other stakeholders to make submissions, with the portal now open on the assembly’s website. 

The assembly was formally established in March and is mandated to examine possible policy, legislative and operational changes to Ireland’s drug policy to reduce harm on individuals, communities and wider Irish society.

The assembly itself is made up of 99 ordinary members of the public and one chairperson, namely former HSE CEO Paul Reid.

A portal for submissions from the public, seeking their views on drug use, is now open on the assembly’s website.

“In due course, all valid submissions received will be published on the Assembly’s website,” a statement read. “The name of the submitter and the name of the organisation, if applicable, will be published alongside the submission.”

Submitters can keep their entries anonymous if they wish by requesting a redaction during the submission process.

“Additional personal information including email address, phone number and address will be captured solely for identity verification purposes only and will not be published with your submission,” the assembly said. 

“The Citizens’ Assembly reserves the right to consider submissions that include offensive or inappropriate content to be invalid,” the statement continued. 

Submissions will be accepted in written or video form and the window for submitting is to remain open for eight weeks, closing on 30 June 2023. 

The submission form can be accessed here, on the Citizens’ Assembly website.