TWO FIANNA FÁIL TDs have called for the Government to kickstart the Citizens’ Assembly on drugs, saying that politicians have been “slow to the table” on the issue.

Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Fianna Fáil’s James Lawless and Paul McAuliffe called for Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to begin the process of starting the Citizens’ Assembly and to select a chairperson.

It follows the publication of a report by the Oireachtas Justice Committee which recommended the acceleration of the decriminalisation of drugs and called on the Government to examine the legalisation of certain drugs.

Lawless, who chairs the Justice Committee, said today that at regulatory model for some illicit drugs could help make them safer and more managed.

“In the same way as a bottle of alcohol can be 40% proof, it can be 3%, it could be 4.5%, we know what it is, we know where it’s manufactured, there are standards and testing around it,” Lawless said.

“That’s same model could be explored for recreational drugs as an alternative.”

When asked if this could allow for people to buy drugs like cocaine and heroin, Lawless said that there should be a distinction between naturally occuring substances and artificially manufactured drugs.

“So mushrooms grow in the ground, peyote is something that Native American Indians used, mescaline is something that was used in South America.

“These are things that tend to grow naturally, they can be harvested or foraged, unlike for instance, crack cocaine.

“These are exactly the kinds of things that we should look at in a regulatory model

“If a product is being measured, is being managed, is being taxed, is being regulated, is been licensed, the it has a greater standing on our streets and in our marketplace then when it isn’t.”

Lawless told reporters that the war on drugs itself had not worked since US President Ronald Reagan was in office and called for a “health-led approach” to drugs rather than a justice-based approach.

“The current approach, the war on drugs, does not work. It hasn’t worked since Reagan.

“We’re in a different place, it’s 2023. It’s time to get real about what’s happening on the streets, what’s happening in communities and where society is today.”

McAuliffe said that the justice-led approach was not the right way to treat people who are suffering from drug addiction.

“It’s very clear that if you find yourself in addiction, a justice-led response is not the correct way to treat somebody with an illness,” McAuliffe said.

The report itself recommends a ‘three-pronged’ approach to drugs policy in Ireland, including speeding up decriminalisation, examining legalisation and improving supports for people with addictions.

The Journal previously spoke with Tony Duffin, the CEO of the Ana Liffey Drug Project, who said that the stigma surrounding drug use is still preventing people from coming forward for help.

“Stigma is a huge issue. It does prevent people from coming forward to access treatment and rehabilitation and other supports,” Duffin said.

“Therefore, you know, stigma is very, very serious.”

Duffin said that countries who have implemented drug decriminalisation policies, like Portugal, there has been a reduction in stigma surrounding drug use.

“In countries like Portugal, where they implemented the model of decriminalisation, which is essentially a very good diversion scheme, they have seen stigma towards people who use drugs disappear.

“Now, it took time. It took about 10 years, 15 years of treating it as a health issue before people realise and start to say, ‘they’re not criminals, they’re people who need a bit of help’.”