The question is, does the new policy work? At the time, critics in the poor, socially conservative and largely Catholic nation said decriminalizing drug possession would open the country to “drug tourists” and exacerbate Portugal’s drug problem; the country had some of the highest levels of hard-drug use in Europe. But the recently released results of a report commissioned by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, suggest otherwise.
The paper, published by Cato in April, found that in the five years after personal possession was decriminalized, illegal drug use among teens in Portugal declined and rates of new HIV infections caused by sharing of dirty needles dropped, while the number of people seeking treatment for drug addiction more than doubled.
“Judging by every metric, decriminalization in Portugal has been a resounding success,” says Glenn Greenwald, an attorney, author and fluent Portuguese speaker, who conducted the research. “It has enabled the Portuguese government to manage and control the drug problem far better than virtually every other Western country does.”
This is no surprise. Making criminals out of people who aren’t criminals will cost you money, not manage any actual problems, and, well, create criminals. That is what the U.S. prison system’s goal has become. There is no interest in humans, just procedure.
Compared to the European Union and the U.S., Portugal’s drug use numbers are impressive. Following decriminalization, Portugal had the lowest rate of lifetime marijuana use in people over 15 in the E.U.: 10%. The most comparable figure in America is in people over 12: 39.8%. Proportionally, more Americans have used cocaine than Portuguese have used marijuana.
The Cato paper reports that between 2001 and 2006 in Portugal, rates of lifetime use of any illegal drug among seventh through ninth graders fell from 14.1% to 10.6%; drug use in older teens also declined. Lifetime heroin use among 16-to-18-year-olds fell from 2.5% to 1.8% (although there was a slight increase in marijuana use in that age group). New HIV infections in drug users fell by 17% between 1999 and 2003, and deaths related to heroin and similar drugs were cut by more than half. In addition, the number of people on methadone and buprenorphine treatment for drug addiction rose to 14,877 from 6,040, after decriminalization, and money saved on enforcement allowed for increased funding of drug-free treatment as well.
At every turn, decriminalization works for society as a whole. Things like this are why Europe is lightyears ahead of the U.S.
I’ve never personally tried any drugs beyond the (very) occasional drink or celebratory cigar (which was pointless), so I can’t say I have a direct personal interest in decriminalization, but I certainly have a very slightly less direct interest. Namely, I pay taxes. I’d rather not pay the government to create criminals which help to support mobs, gangs, pimps, and other nefarious individuals and groups.
Filed under: News, Politics and Social | Tagged: Decriminalization, Drugs, Glenn Greenwald, Portugal |
For the Sake of Science 
I’m with you, mate. Making natural substances illegal is stupid.
People should be treated as criminals for their actions that are wrong, not for their substance intake.
At the same time, though, I can think of no good reason why anyone would be interested in overturning a prohibition on a given drug.
I’m not sure I follow. If you think drugs being illegal is stupid, then why can’t you think of a good reason for overturning prohibitions on certain drugs?
Why would you want to take drugs? Do you have some good reasons for being allowed to use heroin?
I think the issue is more that making criminals out of people who do use heroin and other drugs is a bad remedy. I don’t think drug use is a good idea and I’d prefer see no one on the stuff. But the current solution is awful because it isn’t a solution at all. The goal isn’t to make anybody safer – it’s purely to punish. That’s petty. Having a goal of rehabilitation is much more practical.
Umm .. I doubt you’d get anyone to agree with you there. I do not think the motivation of the law is to punish, merely a misguided attempt at education.
Would you agree with that? The law should teach us what is right and wrong. Teaching us that it is morally wrong to use drugs is stupid.
You’re right. The situation is stupid. But that does not make every attempt to overthrow the situation good. I can think of no good reason why an individual would feel the need to overthrow such a law.
The laws in the United States aren’t working. They aren’t curbing drug use. They create violence. They aren’t aimed at rehabilitation. Nothing about U.S. drug laws are doing the job.
The issue can’t be destroyed, only contained. Right now, it’s exploding.
Oh, I don’t know about that. I certainly would much rather see efforts being made to stop drug dealers than opening the trade up.
Yes, the legal system is far from perfect. The answer, however, is not “no justice”.
Do you agree with me when I say the law should teach right from wrong?