Drug Decriminalization in Portugal

C

Canceled2

Banned
So, a FB friend and I have been discussing this issue lately. He sent me this as a further argument for the case of decriminalizing drugs. My contentions were much the same as most people against decriminalization. But the way the law works in Portugal, if likewise instituted here, would win me over.

On July 1, 2001, a nationwide law in Portugal took effect that decriminalized all drugs, including cocaine and heroin. Under the new legal framework, all drugs were "decriminalized," not "legalized." Thus, drug possession for personal use and drug usage itself are still legally prohibited, but violations of those prohibitions are deemed to be exclusively administrative violations and are removed completely from the criminal realm. Drug trafficking continues to be prosecuted as a criminal offense.
Click to expand...



Drug warriors often contend that drug use would skyrocket if we were to legalize or decriminalize drugs in the United States. Fortunately, we have a real-world example of the actual effects of ending the violent, expensive War on Drugs and replacing it with a system of treatment for problem users and addicts.

Ten years ago, Portugal decriminalized all drugs. One decade after this unprecedented experiment, drug abuse is down by half:

Health experts in Portugal said Friday that Portugal’s decision 10 years ago to decriminalise drug use and treat addicts rather than punishing them is an experiment that has worked.

“There is no doubt that the phenomenon of addiction is in decline in Portugal,” said Joao Goulao, President of the Institute of Drugs and Drugs Addiction, a press conference to mark the 10th anniversary of the law.

The number of addicts considered “problematic” — those who repeatedly use “hard” drugs and intravenous users — had fallen by half since the early 1990s, when the figure was estimated at around 100,000 people, Goulao said.

Other factors had also played their part however, Goulao, a medical doctor added.

“This development can not only be attributed to decriminalisation but to a confluence of treatment and risk reduction policies.”
Click to expand...

Many of these innovative treatment procedures would not have emerged if addicts had continued to be arrested and locked up rather than treated by medical experts and psychologists. Currently 40,000 people in Portugal are being treated for drug abuse. This is a far cheaper, far more humane way to tackle the problem. 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.

None of this is possible when waging a war.




Link
 
Ice Dancer said:
So, a FB friend and I have been discussing this issue lately. He sent me this as a further argument for the case of decriminalizing drugs. My contentions were much the same as most people against decriminalization. But the way the law works in Portugal, if likewise instituted here, would win me over.





Drug warriors often contend that drug use would skyrocket if we were to legalize or decriminalize drugs in the United States. Fortunately, we have a real-world example of the actual effects of ending the violent, expensive War on Drugs and replacing it with a system of treatment for problem users and addicts.

Ten years ago, Portugal decriminalized all drugs. One decade after this unprecedented experiment, drug abuse is down by half:



Many of these innovative treatment procedures would not have emerged if addicts had continued to be arrested and locked up rather than treated by medical experts and psychologists. Currently 40,000 people in Portugal are being treated for drug abuse. This is a far cheaper, far more humane way to tackle the problem. 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.

None of this is possible when waging a war.




Link
Click to expand...

Just like HC reform the public health approach to the illicit drug issue is long over due. The problem is getting politicians to back it. It's political quicksand for a politician. Would you like to be the politician with the balls to say "We need to decriminalize the use of all drugs!" and have your opponent run TV adds of pushers giving drugs to kids (even though that would still be illegal).....you would be political toast.

So unfortunately I don't see it happening anytime soon here.
 
They could start with decriming cannabis which is less harmfull than beer and 1,000 times less harmful than cigarettes. There is no load cry or urgent need to make heroin more available.

Republicans can like my hemroids if they talk about small goverment and support billions to repress poor people who partake in cannabis.
 
Mott the Hoople said:
Just like HC reform the public health approach to the illicit drug issue is long over due. The problem is getting politicians to back it. It's political quicksand for a politician. Would you like to be the politician with the balls to say "We need to decriminalize the use of all drugs!" and have your opponent run TV adds of pushers giving drugs to kids (even though that would still be illegal).....you would be political toast.

So unfortunately I don't see it happening anytime soon here.
Click to expand...

I am only just leaning this way... The approach of decriminalizing usage and possession for personal use as opposed to blanket legalization is, I think, a less partisan approach.
 
I think that Americans, being the reckless dumbasses that we are, would use these drugs a LOT more if legalized, but I really don't care, and the treatment approach is still preferable. Also, its nice to err on the side of liberty.
 
Anyone who wants drugs to be illegal, is promoting death to little children (heads cut off) through drug cartels which only exist because of prohibition. No prohibition=no drug cartels.

Cops, politicians, and judges are easily bought off, and tax payers are run through the legal system and become dependent on others.

There is nothing more insane than prohibition, and doing away with it would go a long way to making this country better.

If the government can tell you, you can't do drugs, it can tell you, you have to worship their god.
 
Threedee said:
I think that Americans, being the reckless dumbasses that we are, would use these drugs a LOT more if legalized, but I really don't care, and the treatment approach is still preferable. Also, its nice to err on the side of liberty.
Click to expand...

You are missing the difference between legalization and decriminalization...check out especially the link to CATO
 
Damn Yankee said:
As long as those being treated pay for their own treatment I don't have a problem with it.
Click to expand...


The money being used for treatment was previously used to house them in prisons- the stats show that less money is needed not only in the short term, but with drug use reduction, future funding becomes an even bigger savings.
 
Ice Dancer said:
Right so fuck the actual stats that have been recorded in Portugal? Fuck the idea that a positive solution with a proven track record is working?...nice~
Click to expand...

We could look at what happened when we ended prohibition.

Crime went way down, bootleggers went out of business, etc.
 
Liberty said:
We could look at what happened when we ended prohibition.

Crime went way down, bootleggers went out of business, etc.
Click to expand...

Comparing alcohol and marijuana is the age old strawman. Decriminalizing drug use so that treatment can be the focus is a positive. Legalizing them so that they can become a commercial commodity, available to consumers via the market, is irresponsible.
 
Ice Dancer said:
The money being used for treatment was previously used to house them in prisons- the stats show that less money is needed not only in the short term, but with drug use reduction, future funding becomes an even bigger savings.
Click to expand...

Good point, but I think prisoners should pay for their incarceration as well.
 
We are talking about people who haven't victimized anyone.

They're tax payers, who have families, and Vote.

Why on Earth, in a free society should they be treated any differently than y'all and the ones you love?

What rights do they have?

So free people want to get high, and have other choices on drugs that help them in times no different than when a person needs a Tylonal.

What rights do the federal government have over themselves, and everyone else included?

Why is it that when the politicians family member(s) get caught, it's a big mistake, and when some poor black person gets caught,,,,,,, they get 20 years?

Drug Cartels only exist because of prohibition, and drug cartels cut little childrens heads off. That's a fact.

Prohibition kills. It kills little children. It takes more from us than just lives. It takes our liberties away, and our natural inalienable rights.
 
Liberty said:
We are talking about people who haven't victimized anyone.

They're tax payers, who have families, and Vote.

Why on Earth, in a free society should they be treated any differently than y'all and the ones you love?

What rights do they have?

So free people want to get high, and have other choices on drugs that help them in times no different than when a person needs a Tylonal.

What rights do the federal government have over themselves, and everyone else included?

Why is it that when the politicians family member(s) get caught, it's a big mistake, and when some poor black person gets caught,,,,,,, they get 20 years?

Drug Cartels only exist because of prohibition, and drug cartels cut little childrens heads off. That's a fact.

Prohibition kills. It kills little children. It takes more from us than just lives. It takes our liberties away, and our natural inalienable rights.
Click to expand...


Number one commonality child abuse and neglect have in common is drug use...a responsible society understands that drug use does victimize others-
 
Ice Dancer said:
Number one commonality child abuse and neglect have in common is drug use...a responsible society understands that drug use does victimize others-
Click to expand...

Alcohol is worse, and there's a reason we did away with that prohibition.

Is losing your constitution worth having the government take your money to put you and the ones you love through the legal system? Is that the only answer to this issue?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top