While the sale of illegal drugs in Portugal is still, technically, illegal, drug abuse and addiction isn’t considered a crime. 1) João Goulão, the current president of SICAD (the addiction intervention service of the Portuguese Ministry of Health) mentions the Carnation Revolution of 1974 as the starting point of Portugal's drug problems: "(before 1974) There were no drugs. Predictably, delegations from countries around the world, looking to solve their own drug problems—from Denmark to Mexico to Canada—have come to Lisbon to study this new approach. When Portugal decriminalized all illegal drugs in 2000, officials hoped to reduce addiction rates and drug-related violence. Back in the 1990s, Portugal faced a heroin crisis. The whole hippie movement passed us by. “More Imprisonment Does Not Reduce State Drug Problems” “New Data Show Significant Changes in Drug Overdose Deaths” Some experts, like the founder of the Center for Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, Joseph Califano, criticized the country’s new policies. In Portugal, for instance, virtually all drug use was decriminalized in 2001. Because drugs can be potentially harmful or be the cause of violent behavior, there must be strong controls placed upon the … In March 2018, the US-based advocacy organization Drug Policy Alliance led a large delegation to Portugal to learn more about the impacts of decriminalization of drug use on health outcomes and society. During the first years of freedom, drug use exploded. Civil penalties and drug intervention programs have replaced a failing … Portugal Decriminalized All Drugs in 2001. In Portugal, drugs were completely decriminalized and this did nothing to change the problems. However, stats supporting a Portugal drug decriminalization failure show an initial increase in drug experimentation and a 41 percent spike in homicides, which fell after the first five years. Decriminalization was the most prominent part of a package of reforms designed to take a humane approach to addiction, to treat it as a disease rather than a moral failing. But, as of yet, ... B.C doctors look to Portugal for drug decriminalization lessons. EMCDDA Director addresses Lithuanian drug policy conference (May 2018) ; EU presidency: Portugal focuses on Europe’s recovery and chairs activities in the field of drugs (January 2021) ; Supporting initiatives in the field of drugs policy (September 2019) ; A quarter of a century providing evidence for better policies and actions on drugs in Europe (January 2020) Portugal's Law on Decriminalization. War on Drugs: Portugal may be winning the battle against drug abuse through decriminalisation. Decriminalization Legislature In July 2001 Portugal formally decriminalized drug possession for personal use with Law 30/2000. Credit: Carlyn Zwarenstein. Introduced a system of referral to Commissions for the Discussion of Drug Addiction Cannabis in Portugal is illegal but was decriminalized with all other drugs in 2001. “Drug Decriminalization in Portugal: Learning from a Health and Human-Centered Approach” “How Portugal is solving its opioid problem” by Rebecca Clay (Links to an external site.) "In 1999, a few years prior to decriminalization, Portugal had the highest number of drug-related AIDS cases in the European Union and the second highest prevalence of HIV among drug-infected users. Rates of problematic drug use and drug-related incarceration have also fallen, while numbers of people voluntarily entering treatment for substance use issues have increased. (2012) ‘Portuguese drug policy shows that decriminalisation can work, but only alongside improvements in health and social policies’, LSE European Politics and Policy Blog, 10/12/12. Drug Decriminalization in Portugal – academicacers. Ten years ago Portugal decriminalized all drugs. Domosławski, A. Then, the SCM estimator: (5) Y 1 T − ∑ j = 2 J + 1 w j * Y jt gives the treatment effect as a difference between the outcome for the treated unit (price of illicit drugs in Portugal after decriminalization) and the outcome for the synthetic control obtained as a convex combination of units in the donor pool (predicted price of illicit drugs for the artificial Portugal). _____ Drug decriminalization is defined as the Drug use is a hidden and stigmatised activity. According to Portugal drug decriminalization statistics, drug overdose deaths declined after decriminalization, drug usage did not go up, and prison overcrowding decreased. Those in the harm reduction world know Portugal as a harm reduction Mecca: renowned for its 2001 legislation that decriminalized possession of small amounts of substances—including “hard” drugs like heroin and cocaine—and prioritized the health and human rights of people who use drugs over punishing them for it. There is a complete and absurd campaign of manipulation of Portuguese drug policy facts and figures, which some authors appear to have fallen for. In Portugal, drug addiction is treated as a disease – not a crime. (2011) ‘Drug Policy in Portugal: The Benefits of Decriminalizing Drug Use’, Open Society Foundations Global Drug Policy Program, p. 30. Contrary to what drug warriors argue, drug decriminalization in Portugal has been an outstanding success. These decriminalization of drugs pros and cons suggest that the benefits seen in Portugal could be something that other nations may experience as well. Drug decriminalization in Portugal is a failure, despite various reports published recently all over the world saying the opposite. Stevens, A. the Portuguese drug strategy, it is difficult to attribute any changes in drug use indicators in Portugal solely to the 2001 law. 128 Research suggests that drug-related disease … The decriminalization of drug use and possession is distinct from drug legalization, which would sanction the legal sale and distribution of previously-llicit drugs under government supervision. For this essay, you will be formulating and defending your own argument. The distribution and sale of controlled substances is still a criminal offense in Portugal, but possession and use of drugs are handled as a … Since Portugal ceased criminalizing drug use, the results have been dramatic.1 The number of people voluntarily entering treatment has increased significantly, while overdose deaths, HIV infections, problematic drug use, and incarceration for drug-related offenses have plummeted. Open-air drug use site in Porto, Portugal. Instead, it’s treated as a health issue . "Drug decriminalization did reach its primary goal in Portugal," of reducing the health consequences of drug use, he says, "and did not lead to Lisbon becoming a drug tourist destination." Although there are few drug arrests in Portugal, criminal activity with drug … 1 That does not, however, mean that drug use is legal. ESSAY #3: WRITING AN ARGUMENT FOR DECRIMINALIZING ALL DRUGS IN THE U.S. (THIS ESSAY IS DUE THURSDAY, 10/29, BY 11:59 PM; YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO UPLOAD YOUR ESSAY ONTO CANVAS.) It emphasized the experience of Portugal, where a shift to decriminalization that began in 2001 appears to have been positive. Most people knew someone affected by the lethal drug. In contrast, Portugal may be winning the war on drugs — by ending it. The causal link between drugs, death, disease and crime is However, the selling and trafficking of these drugs were still a criminal charge. Today, the Health Ministry estimates that only about 25,000 Portuguese use heroin, down from 100,000 when the … Table 1 provides a reference for Portugal's laws governing drugs before and after the passage of 30/2000. This is not the case in Portugal, where drug trafficking remains a crime. This law decriminalized the possession of up to a ten day supply of all types of illicit substances. But that is a result of the failure of prohibition, not decriminalization. Prior to 2001, consumption, purchase, possession, or cultivation of drugs were criminal offenses punishable by a fine or up to three months' imprisonment or, if the quantity exceeded an amount necessary for “average individual consumption” … This has occurred in Portugal, where injection drug use dropped dramatically following decriminalization but where those who do continue to inject have been pushed to the shadows, as Rui Coimbra Morais, president of CASO, Portugal’s drug-user … The number of new cases of HIV / AIDS and Hepatitis C in Portugal Drug-induced deaths, which decreased in Portugal from 369 in 1999 to 152 in 2003, climbed to 314 in 2007 – a number significantly higher than the 280 deaths recorded when decriminalization … Drug users would be viewed as patients, not as criminals, and they would be met with treatment, rather than incarceration. 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