Portugal: Drug Abuse Down by 50% ... Was Bigger Government the Answer?

[FrankRep]

Ten Years After Decriminalization, Drug Abuse Down by Half in Portugal (http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2011/07/05/ten-years-after-decriminalization-drug-abuse-down-by-half-in-portugal/)

Forbes.com | July 5, 2011

Portugal Drug Policy: Decriminalization Works (http://www.businessinsider.com/portugal-drug-policy-decriminalization-works-2012-7)

Business Insider | Jul. 17, 2012

Portugal decriminalizes drugs -- drug abuse drops 50% (http://open.salon.com/blog/richard_rider/2012/02/20/portugal_legalizes_drugs_--_drug_abuse_drops_50)

Salon.com | Feb. 20, 2012

Portugal decriminalized drugs a decade ago. What have we learned? (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/10/17/111017fa_fact_specter)

The New Yorker | Oct. 17, 2011



"The Experts"


Portugal’s Drug Decriminalization No Model for U.S., Expert Says (http://www.drugfree.org/join-together/drugs/portugals-drug-decriminalization-no-model-for-u-s-expert-says)

Drug Free
March 30, 2011

[Origanalist]

Rather than locking up 100,000 criminals, the Portuguese are working to cure 40,000 patients and fine-tuning a whole new canon of drug treatment knowledge at the same time.

How is that bigger government?

[FrankRep]

How is that bigger government?

Sarcasm maybe?

[Origanalist]

Must remember to turn sarcasm meter on....

[FrankRep]

Must remember to turn sarcasm meter on....
Oh and the answer to "Was Bigger Government the Answer?" is NO.

Just wanted to clarify.

:rolleyes:

[Origanalist]

Oh and the answer to "Was Bigger Government the Answer?" is NO.

Just wanted to clarify.

:rolleyes:

I think I get it now.;)

[tod evans]

Nothing to see here.........move on.

[Tudo]

May John Carnevale's grandchildren be struck down with the type of chronic pain that only medical marijuana can help with. Enjoy your oxy's you lowlife.

[kathy88]

May John Carnevale's grandchildren be struck down with the type of chronic pain that only medical marijuana can help with. Enjoy your oxy's you lowlife.

Not cool.

[Tudo]

Not cool.

No it sure isn't.

[FindLiberty]

Maybe the forum could feature a standardized, colored sarcastic text font.

It could then be mandated by law.

(use of any additional punctuation would, of course, be "optional" )

[Zippyjuan]

How the program basically works is if you are caught with small (personal) amounts of drugs you don't go to jail. You do have to enter a government rehab program though so you go from one government program into another. The idea being that if you do the rehab program you will be less likely to make a return visit to the system (and that seems to be working). Larger amounts are still illegal (dealing) and you can go to jail for those.

http://www.businessinsider.com/portugal-drug-policy-decriminalization-works-2012-7

Portugal's move to decriminalize does not mean people can carry around, use, and sell drugs free from police interference. That would be legalization. Rather, all drugs are "decriminalized," meaning drug possession, distribution, and use is still illegal. While distribution and trafficking is still a criminal offense, possession and use is moved out of criminal courts and into a special court where each offender's unique situation is judged by legal experts, psychologists, and social workers. Treatment and further action is decided in these courts, where addicts and drug use is treated as a public health service rather than referring it to the justice system (like the U.S.), reports Fox News.

The resulting effect: a drastic reduction in addicts, with Portuguese officials and reports highlighting that this number, at 100,000 before the new policy was enacted, has been halved in the following ten years. Portugal's drug usage rates are now among the lowest of EU member states, according to the same report.

One more outcome: a lot less sick people. Drug related diseases including STDs and overdoses have been reduced even more than usage rates, which experts believe is the result of the government offering treatment with no threat of legal ramifications to addicts.

While this policy is by no means news, the statistics and figures, which take years to develop and subsequently depict the effects of the change, seem to be worth noting. In a country like America, which may take the philosophy of criminalization a bit far (more than half of America's federal inmates are in prison on drug convictions), other alternatives must, and to a small degree, are being discussed.

[James Madison]

How is that bigger government?

What I don't understand is why do drug users need to be 'cured'? What's wrong with them? They should be allowed to live their life in a manner that makes them happy and without the government deeming them 'sick'.