Glenn Greenwald has an essay on drug policy in Portugal that's pretty interesting.
Eight years ago Portugal decriminalized drugs-all drugs, including cocaine and heroin. Portugal is the only EU member to decriminalize drug use although some others mostly ignore it by policy. And none of the stuff that the law and order or wingnut types would be worried about happened. Drug use didn't rise among youth, Portugal didn't become a drug tourist destination, and in addition STDs and overdose deaths are both down.
Drug policy experts think they've gotten those results mostly because they're spending the money they would have spent on locking people up on treatment programs instead.
I found this on a blog that's new to me. They Gave Us A Republic which I'd never seen before today but seems pretty good.