Ms Céire Moynihan:

I think the Senator is absolutely accurate. It is a very good way of stating it. Mr. O'Neill will probably agree that the majority of members of the citizens' assembly believe drugs are harmful and do not want them to be legalised, but they equally believe that the users of the drugs are, for want of a better word, victims. They do not like the word "victim". I have met some of them and have noted that they are some of the most resilient people. As Deputy Gould said, they really add a lot to society when they come through the other end. We went to visit Coolmine drug rehabilitation centre. I would recommend that every member do so to see the preschool children with their mums who are going through rehabilitation. We do not want to stigmatise people using drugs; we want them to be treated like those treated for alcohol abuse. It is a health issue, not a criminal issue.