[Illusion]

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.”

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.


Portugal's Legalization Of Drugs Successful

[k_dub]

[DannyDrama]

If Portugal can get it right, why the hell can't we?

[kellyhound]

weird denmark is no 1 with cannabis use.

[Dennislp3]

Originally Posted by DannyDrama ↗

If Portugal can get it right, why the hell can't we?

its a money thing...the "War on drugs" costs millions of taxpayer dollars to keep going...and this money goes to someone.

Privatization of prisons doesn't help...since that makes locking people up a business.

You will find that in the US (and likely many other places) you can and will find without fail connections between big drug companies, government official (and contracts), and the legal system in ways that are clearly conflicts of interest. For example politicians with shares or ownership in drug companies pushing for laws that bring profits to said company (and themselves).

The US legal system is a joke and a system manipulated to cater to the ones that can afford lobbyists and create laws that benefit themselves.

[yknotme]

The US would do it, but Pfizer might lose some of it's profitability.

[BryanXavier]

Excellent post. I try to find info on how decriminalizaition would work. I just drink and use tobacco but I lean strongly towards complete de-criminalization - for the sake of liberty and reducing expenses in policing this.