Portugal's Radical Drug Policy Is Working: Why Hasn't the World Copied It?
"...In 2001...Portugal became the first country to decriminalise the
possession and consumption of all illicit substances. Rather than being
arrested, those caught with a personal supply might be given a warning, a
small fine, or told to appear before a local commission – a doctor, a
lawyer and a social worker – about treatment, harm reduction, and the
support services that were available to them.
The opioid crisis soon stabilised, and the ensuing years saw dramatic
drops in problematic drug use, HIV and hepatitis infection rates,
overdose deaths, drug-related crime and incarceration rates.... It’s misleading, however, to credit these positive results entirely to a change in law.
Portugal’s remarkable recovery, and the fact that it has held steady
through several changes in government – including conservative leaders
who would have preferred to return to the US-style war on drugs – could
not have happened without an enormous cultural shift, and a change in
how the country viewed drugs, addiction – and itself. In many ways, the
law was merely a reflection of transformations that were already
happening in clinics, in pharmacies and around kitchen tables across the
country. The official policy of decriminalisation made it far easier
for a broad range of services (health, psychiatry, employment, housing
etc) that had been struggling to pool their resources and expertise, to
work together more effectively to serve their communities."
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