Just Say Whatever To Drugs
Portugal took a different step with drug users, writes Keith O'Brien in The Boston Globe:
Faced with both a public health crisis and a public relations disaster, Portugal's elected officials took a bold step. They decided to decriminalize the possession of all illicit drugs -- from marijuana to heroin -- but continue to impose criminal sanctions on distribution and trafficking. The goal: easing the burden on the nation's criminal justice system and improving the people's overall health by treating addiction as an illness, not a crime.As the sweeping reforms went into effect nine years ago, some in Portugal prepared themselves for the worst. They worried that the country would become a junkie nirvana, that many neighborhoods would soon resemble Casal Ventoso, and that tourists would come to Portugal for one reason only: to get high. "We promise sun, beaches, and any drug you like," complained one fearful politician at the time.
But nearly a decade later, there's evidence that Portugal's great drug experiment not only didn't blow up in its face; it may have actually worked. More addicts are in treatment. Drug use among youths has declined in recent years. Life in Casal
Ventoso, Lisbon's troubled neighborhood, has improved. And new research, published in the British Journal of Criminology, documents just how much things have changed in Portugal. Coauthors Caitlin Elizabeth Hughes and Alex Stevens report a 63 percent increase in the number of Portuguese drug users in treatment and, shortly after the reforms took hold, a 499 percent increase in the amount of drugs seized -- indications, the authors argue, that police officers, freed up from focusing on small-time possession, have been able to target big-time traffickers while drug addicts, no longer in danger of going to prison, have been able to get the help they need.
...Not everyone agrees with this analysis. The rate of people reporting drug use in Portugal is, in fact, increasing -- and some say alarmingly so. Others argue that it's hard to draw lessons from Portugal's experiment because the nation increased access to treatment at the same time it decriminalized drugs. Many believe that Portugal's new focus on treatment -- and prevention -- may have had as much, if not more, to do with its success than its policy of decriminalization.
"The rate of people reporting drug use in Portugal is, in fact, increasing -- and some say alarmingly so."
This is desirable, how?
Radwaste at January 19, 2011 2:10 AM
Whatever.
Roger at January 19, 2011 4:51 AM
The irony is that Portugal undertook the experiment to reduce spending on drug prosecutions, incarcerations, and health of users. However, the article focuses on the number of drug users which wasn't the main area of concern.
So, did Portugal's violent crime rate decrease? Are they now spending less money on drug prosecutions, and incarcerations? This is why one decriminalizes. Are they also counting the number of Alcoholics ... or seem concerned about this statistic?
AllenS at January 19, 2011 7:41 AM
Good point, AllenS.
Everybody note that if drug use rises in the USA due to a relaxation of existing law, that will still not miraculously make existing drug distributors into peaceful citizens.
Radwaste at January 19, 2011 2:43 PM
that will still not miraculously make existing drug distributors into peaceful citizens.
No, it will not it. The largest part of serious crime associated with drugs is associated with those who transport and distribute them. Any reform of our drug laws needs to bring this aspect of the business under legal auspices so that it no longer brings huge funds into the hands of criminal gangs here and other places (primarily south of our border).
Christopher at January 19, 2011 4:19 PM
Yeah Christopher, that bit doesn't make sense to me either. If you're going to legalize use and possession, the stuff has to come from somewhere, so why should distribution be illegal? Legalize distribution, and corporations will crowd out the gangs just as legitimate casino owners eventually crowded the Mob out of Vegas. Once the business gets big, the criminal enterprises with their high overhead, inefficient distribution channels, and lack of access to capital can't compete anymore. And legitimate ownership also lets government regulate it to whatever extent that it needs to be regulated.
Cousin Dave at January 19, 2011 6:15 PM
Who said that a criminal enterprise was either inefficient or has high overhead?
Somebody who didn't notice that everything a criminal does doesn't have to be approved by Federal and State agencies.
"Lack of access to capital". LOL!
Radwaste at January 19, 2011 6:52 PM
The criminals will adjust, as they did when prohibition ended.
carol at January 19, 2011 7:12 PM
Criminal enterprises, almost by definition, are inefficient. There are several reasons why. First, obviously they have to do all sorts of things that are non-optimal, for the purpose of evading detection. There's a saying among corporate lawyers that if you see a company that is incorporated in a maze of interlocking d/b/a's and shell corporations, you are looking at a criminal enterprise -- there's no reason why a legit business would need to do all that.
Second, the problem that anyone working in a criminal enterprise faces, is that all of his co-workers are criminals. No one can be trusted. You have to put an awful lot of labor into ass-covering, labor that could have gone into something more productive. And everyone else is doing the same.
I'll point it out again: the Mob only prospered in Vegas as long as they were the only game in town. When they tried to go toe-to-toe with the big hotel conglomerates, they got their clocks cleaned.
Cousin Dave at January 19, 2011 8:03 PM
The criminals will adjust, as they did when prohibition ended.
Again -- pointing out that prohibition, in any form -- fails.
As much as I hate the term -- "regulating" any interest is the way to go. But some things need more regulation than others.
You can sell pot legally -- but 25% of your profits need to go to rehab. Cocaine -- 60% of your profits need to go to rehab. Heroin -- your users have to be "inpatient" to use (at their cost). You would see companies take over the trade.
You are a "victim" of your addiction -- you go to rehab. Those who want to continue to abuse -- they don't care of the damage to themselves and need to be stopped from damaging society -- they can do so but they have to live in group homes that control behavior.
Jim P. at January 19, 2011 8:08 PM
"The rate of people reporting drug use in Portugal is, in fact, increasing -- and some say alarmingly so."
If reporting drug use for youself or a family
member resulted in getting help rather than
getting arrested, the number of reported
users would probably more nearly
approach the number of actual users
without an absolute increase in
actual users.
Northcountry at January 19, 2011 8:24 PM
Northcountry - it's been nine years already.
Ben David at January 20, 2011 6:53 AM
"The rate of people reporting drug use in Portugal is, in fact, increasing -- and some say alarmingly so."
Ben, note that they never said what that rate was, only that some found it alarming.
I know people who think anyone who drinks so much as the wtered down beer Utah allows to be sold is 'alarming' proof of alcoholism.
For all we know the rate of increase is an extra 1 person out of 10,000. Given wikipeadia's estimation of Portugal's population of 11 million, 1 in 10,000 would be 1000 over 9 yrs that would be 9000 people. Some would find that alarming.
lujlp at January 20, 2011 9:07 PM
There's nothing wrong with recreational drug use. Most people do it and are still contributing members of society, with jobs and responsibilities. What Portugal is doing is treating their citizens like adults, allowing them to make decisions about their own bodies.
I am very careful about everything that I put into my body, which includes legal prescription drugs, alcohol, processed food, etc. Everything has the potential for dangerous side effects, and most rational intelligent adults are capable of making these kinds of decisions. The ones that aren't should be taken care of medically, which is what the Portuguese government is doing.
And statistics are very easy to use in a deceitful way. Are these numbers relative or absolute? If one person out of 100 does something, and then another person does it, statistic can report a 100% increase. Pretty stupid.
Chrissy at January 21, 2011 8:26 AM
"There's a saying among corporate lawyers that if you see a company that is incorporated in a maze of interlocking d/b/a's and shell corporations, you are looking at a criminal enterprise -- there's no reason why a legit business would need to do all that."
And have you seen a copy of the US Government Manual?
Drug kingpins are worth billions, with a "B". This is, indeed, a fraction of what Eli Lilly and Pfizer are worth with government approval, but that isn't an indication of efficiency - it's an indication of pervasive marketing and health-care subsidies.
I'd like to know what measurement there is of this "efficiency", anyway.
Radwaste at January 21, 2011 5:51 PM
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