AFP reports that 10 years after Portugal decriminalized drug use, and decided to treat addicts instead, that the experiment has worked. Portugal drug law show results ten years on, experts say
LISBON — 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."
Portugal's holistic approach had also led to a "spectacular" reduction in the number of infections among intravenous users and a significant drop in drug-related crimes, he added.
A law that became active on July 1, 2001 did not legalize drug use, but forced users caught with banned substances to appear in front of special addiction panels rather than in a criminal court.
The panels composed of psychologists, judges and social workers recommended action based on the specifics of each case. Since then, government panels have recommended a response based largely on whether the individual is an occasional drug user or an addict.
Of the nearly 40,000 people currently being treated, "the vast majority of problematic users are today supported by a system that does not treat them as delinquents but as sick people," Goulao said.
This is encouraging news. As we learn more about the devastating impacts of using criminal and military enforcement as our primary response to drug problems, it is becoming apparent to many that our punitive, and primitive drug laws are doing more harm to the American people than the drugs themselves.
Our so-called "War on Drugs" is really a "War on American Drug Users" and their families.
Statistics show our drug laws are racist, and classist as people of color, other minorities, and the poor are disproportionately prosecuted.
In a country that does not provide adequate mental health care, they are also immoral, IMO, as many of the users are self-medicating depression, pain, and other ills, they have no other treatment options for.
And, they are ruthlessly stupid, cruel, and self-destructive. It costs nearly $50,000 per person per year to keep someone incarcerated. And, the US has over 2 million prisoners, the highest of any modern industrialized country by far. Nearly half are in for drugs. We should be using this money for social programs.
President Obama should pardon all Federal and State prisoners who are being held due to non-violent drug offenses. And, also instruct is Drug Czar to cease federal prosecutions for marijuana and other trivial drug offenses.
And, to renounce last weeks announcement that the DEA is going to resume raids on medical marijuana dispensaries licensed by states that have legalized medical marijuana.