Thread by @CianOConcubhair

I attended the @CitizAssembly yesterday as an observer

Along with @iancriminology and Senator Lynn Ruane, we had communicated with the Assembly's secretariat to convey our serious concerns about the dearth of relevant criminal justice & policing expertise heard by the Assembly

My first time observing the Assembly in action, and it was an impressive and inspiring example of deliberative democracy in action

I was very impressed with the structure and procedures governing the presenations and questions

I thought the Chairing was excellent

#CADrugUse

I also had the opportunity to speak informally to a number of members of the Assembly

Unfortunately, our concerns were proven as it seems that some very basic but fundamental parts of Irish and international drug policy have not been explained to the Assembly

I must admit, it was was quite shocking to find that Assembly members have not, in five weekend meeting, had the background and context to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 explained to them

Nor, it seems, has the background to the UN's Single Convention been explained

#CADrugUse

It's also not at all clear that the models of regulation being examined by Germany, Malta and Luxembourg for cannabis legalisation have been explained

Given the Assembly will at their next and final meeting be voting on regulatory models – this is a major informational gap

Some of the Qs asked by Assembly members suggests – perhaps unsurprisingly given the onslaught of misinformation from some in the parade of public servants that have dominated oral presentations at #CADrugUse – that there remains significant confusion about the evidence base

Given the generational significance of this process

It is an understatement to say that I am extremely disappointed by the significant gaps in evidence presented to the Assembly

It's also hard to convey my frustration that the #CADrugUse process has carried on without the direct input of relevant expertise

I'm confident the above issues wouldn't have come about if there had been direct input by criminal justice experts from the outset

There have throughout the process been some startling exclusions from oral evidence

Compounded by some predictable, non-expert campaigning, inclusions

Unfortunately (but predictably)

The voice of the panicked upper middle class medic – fearful their child won't get a perfect leaving cert because they'll smoke cannabis – has been as dominant within the Assembly as it has been on our news media

On the plus side

There have been some hugely impressive and compelling contributions from grassroots advocacy workers

Particularly memorable from yesterday was Andy O'Hara from @myuisce