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Health
Huge Success: 10 Years After Portugal Legalizes All Drugs
This month marks the 10-year anniversary of Portugal's radical decision to decriminalize the possession of all drugs -- not just marijuana, but cocaine, heroin and everything else in Keith Richards' suitcase. Many experts predicted disaster -- a nation of drug abusers.
Well, 10 years later, the opposite has happened.
According to a report on AlterNet.org, Portugal was in the midst of a staggering epidemic of HIV infection among drug users who used needles when it took the drastic step of legalizing all drugs.
It certainly worked for HIV infections, considering they plunged 17%. Meanwhile, drug deaths were cut by half overall.
As far as drug usage, just 10% of adults in Portugal now smoke marijuana. That is the lowest rate in the European Union, and is miniscule compared to the 40% rate in the United States. Heroin use is also down dramatically.
"There is no doubt that the phenomenon of addiction is in decline in Portugal," Joao Goulao, President of the Institute of Drugs and Drugs Addiction, said at a news conference to mark the 10th anniversary of the law.
Glenn Greenwald, who conducted a study of Portugal's drug usage in 2009 for the Cato Institute, told Time magazine, “Judging by every metric, drug decriminalization in Portugal has been a resounding success. It has enabled the Portuguese government to manage and control the drug problem far better than virtually every other Western country."
He added, "By freeing its citizens from the fear of prosecution and imprisonment for drug usage, Portugal has dramatically improved its ability to encourage drug addicts to avail themselves of treatment. The resources that were previously devoted to prosecuting and imprisoning drug addicts are now available to provide treatment programs to addicts."
Despite the apparently encouraging results out of Portugal, they are unlikely to sway American officials to make the same move. Government agencies like the Drug Enforcement Administration are fiercely devoted to fighting the war on drugs in the same manner it has been conducted for the past 40 years.
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Comments
Portugal is hardly the
Portugal is hardly the paragon of European success:
*) It has one of the worst education system in Europe with the third highest dropout rate of any first world country. Only 28% of the adult population has completed high school
*) Portugal is the poorest country in Western Europe.
*) Portugal is facing massive budget cuts and promises to be the next Greece. It couldn't afford to put more people in prison if it wanted to.
*) Portugal has experience a steady increase in the crime rate as its economic conditions have worsened. In fact there is a warning by the department of state to be vigilant against theft (pickpockets, etc.)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704076804576180522989644198.html
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2011/03/25/Portugal-workforce-unschooled/UPI-16361301069117/
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1002.html
There certainly is a reasonable argument for at least limited drug legalization. However, Portugal is not a country to hold up as an example for anything.
Unless you can demonstrate
Unless you can demonstrate that these facts resulted from the decriminalization of drugs they are irrelevant. No one is advocating that we try to become like Portugal in every way but we certainly can look at what is working for them.
My point is that we're
My point is that we're nothing like Portugal, so extrapolating what their experience has been to what ours will be is bogus. Every country and culture is different and things that work well in one will not work well in another.
Consequently, unless you can show that we are exactly like Portugal, I think anyone who claims we would have the same experience in the US is reaching at best.
I hate the logic of "because
I hate the logic of "because something works in another country, therefore it must work in the US". Our population is significantly larger than that of other countries in the world.
The 17% decrease in HIV infections; how is that directly related to the legalization of drugs? Maybe they took the funding that was used to combat drugs and put it into treatment/education and that is the cause of the decrease; something that could be accomplished with out the legalization of narcotics.
- The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.-
I dont know if you've noticed
I dont know if you've noticed but we arent exactly rolling in money here either. So taking money uselessly wasted on things like marijuana enforcement and spending it wisely would definitely be a direct benefit of legalization.
It could be as simple as not
It could be as simple as not putting users in prison and fining them instead.
If portugal had a needle exchange program for eight years prior to legalization, yet had the highest AIDS rate among IV drug users in europe in the late nineties, it may not be an issue of money at all. It could be as simple as not sending heroin users to prison to get AIDS from their new prison husband.
We could just as easily make potheads pay large fines to get this country out of debt as we can by making it legal and taxing it.
I don't follow anyone, because those that appear to be on the same path usually end up just getting in my way.
Hate? What I dislike is the
Hate? What I dislike is the fact that we have for the last forty years or so "Our" goverment has been waging a war against our own citizens. The budgets of these agencies has balloned into the billions. They have and will continue to erode our civil rights in the name of the "war on drugs". If your position is that you have decided that Adults who live in this country should not be allowed to do narcotics if they so chose, and that by passing a law that this would stop them, Ru serious?, then go ahead. I think it is time to try something different, ok if you insist we should at the laest take the funds spent on the DEA and try to get a grip on that goverment smuggling operation known as the CIA, at least the drug operation part of it and lets try, wait for it.............., SECURE THE BORDERS, this would include all ports of entry too.
the_car_man
So you really didn't disagree
So you really didn't disagree with anything I said except for "hate"? I never talked about the budget or the "war on drugs". I don't like the logic of because it works for someone else means it should work for us to. That logic is ludicrous.
(disclaimer) I'm not directing this at you, this is in the general sense.
I do not and will not support the legalization of narcotics as long as there is public funding that goes toward their treatment.
If one wishes to do drugs, fine! Smoke away, snort away, shoot up all you want. DON'T COME CRYING TO ME EXPECTING ME TO FUND YOUR HEALTH CARE WHEN YOU HAVE EVERY DISEASE IN THE BOOK! SORRY, TOO BAD, I GUESS YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN DOING ALL THEM DRUGS. MEANWHILE YOU WERE OUT GETTING HIGH AS A KITE, I WAS WORKING AND NOW YOU EXPECT ME TO PROVIDE YOU TREATMENT?
As long as there public funding for health care, I will fight the legalization of illicit narcotics.
- The Tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.-
Trying to get the
Trying to get the "establishment" to relinquish the kind of power and wealth they control is going to be almost impossible to do. The militarization of American society is well established, without the majority of americans realizing what freedoms they are losing, I feel the sheeple will just be led to complete compitulation. To anyone who really wants "CHANGE" please consider Ron Paul& join the R3VOLUTION.
the_car_man
Ron Paul is a nut job who
Ron Paul is a nut job who would ruin our economy and force us into the third world. To call his ideas crackpot, is an insult to other crackpots. Thank goodness the american people are smart enough to smell BS when the pile is big enough.
One of the most important pieces of economic regulation has been anti-trust regulation. Ron Paul would call that government interference with a successful private business. If it were up to him, we'll all be buying Standard Oil gas at $10/gallon, talking on ATT phones at $1/minute and using IBM mainframes instead of the huge array of minicomputers available today.
Ya... Ron Paul for president.. now that's a truly scary idea.
I've never heard Ron Paul say
I've never heard Ron Paul say that he prefers monopolies as you suggest. I guess beliving in personal freedom and the constitution of the United States of America, and that the goverment live within it's budget makes him a nut. I'm not sure most "Americans" even know what's going on with our goverment. Don't listen to others insults of the candidates, I would hope Americans would check out their records, if you have access to the internet, check out what they stand for and what they have stood for and whether they act as they speak. The proof is in the records, if one will only look for it. Name calling is inappropiate one should deal in facts not feelings.
the_car_man
Ron Paul has specifically
Ron Paul has specifically cited anti-trust regulation as unconstitutional. It has been one of most important pieces of regulation for preserving competition. He believes the free market will correct monopolies when nothing is further from the truth. An unregulated market tends to lead to monopolies which stifle innovation and keep costs artificially high.
I am only calling out Ron Paul because you brought him up as some sort of revolutionary savior. His ideas would kill this country much faster than anyone else running for office except for the socialist nuts on the other end.
Where did the 40% of adults
Where did the 40% of adults in the US smoke marijuana bit come from? Just curious.
It is called "hyperbole."
It is called "hyperbole."