Portugal decriminalizes drug use. "Problem" addicts reduced by 50%

[TalkingDog]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g9C6x99EnFVdFuXw_B8pvDRzLqcA?docId=CNG.e740b6d0077ba8c28f6d1dd931c6f679.5e1

Health experts in Portugal said Friday that Portugal’s decision 10 years ago to decriminalise drug use and treat addicts rather than punishing them is an experiment that has worked.

"There is no doubt that the phenomenon of addiction is in decline in Portugal," said Joao Goulao, President of the Institute of Drugs and Drugs Addiction, a press conference to mark the 10th anniversary of the law.

The number of addicts considered "problematic" — those who repeatedly use "hard" drugs and intravenous users — had fallen by half since the early 1990s, when the figure was estimated at around 100,000 people, Goulao said.

snip:

"This development can not only be attributed to decriminalisation but to a confluence of treatment and risk reduction policies."

[midnight]

1. K&R!

[riderinthestorm]

2. They didn't legalize drugs at all.

From your link... (I like this approach very, very much!)

A law that became active on July 1, 2001 did not legalise drug use, but forced users caught with banned substances to appear in front of special addiction panels rather than in a criminal court.

The panels composed of psychologists, judges and social workers recommended action based on the specifics of each case.

Since then, government panels have recommended a response based largely on whether the individual is an occasional drug user or an addict.

Of the nearly 40,000 people currently being treated, "the vast majority of problematic users are today supported by a system that does not treat them as delinquents but as sick people," Goulao said.

[Skittles]

3. WONDERFUL approach

perhaps the same approach could be applied to children & teenagers charged with crimes - intervention before they become hard-core criminals

[MattBaggins]

5. Not in America

We have "tough on crime no nonsense lock em up" politicians that need to get elected. You will not get elected if your opponent can paint you as a bleeding heart liberal who is soft on crime. Every year some Politician stats some new policy to lock people up just to bolster their re-election numbers.

We are tough guys in America. If you make a mistake and fall we don't help you up, we kick you for being stupid and falling in the first place.

YEEEE FUUCCCKINNGG HAWWWW

[tridim]

4. More data for the DEA and the Prison Industrial Complex to completely ignore.