Portugal Drug Policy

Compared to several other countries, including the United States, Portugal has taken a very liberal approach to addressing the drug problem in their country. In the early 2000's, Portugal moved to decriminalize all possession and use of drugs ranging from marijuana to heroin and cocaine. A lot of good has resulted from Portugal's progressive drug policy. At first, many were skeptical about whether or not this new policy would work, or if it would actually exacerbate the drug problem. People also claimed that the new drug policy would open the country to "drug tourists" further intensifying the issue. However, studies shortly after the enactment of this policy showed otherwise. In the first five years after personal possession was decriminalized,
People found in possession of small amounts of drugs are sent to a panel consisting of a psychologist, a social worker, and a legal adviser for appropriate treatment, which the individual can then refuse with no fear of legal repercussions. The cost of incarceration is higher than the cost of treatment so not only are they reducing the amount they spend on prisoners in jail, they are offering these individuals legitimate help to overcome his or her problem. This policy seems to have many more pros than cons. Between 2000 and 2008, some pros include: people treated for drug addiction rose 20 percent, adolescents, problem users, and prisoners decreased, drug-related court cases dropped 66 percent and HIV cases dropped nearly 75 percent. In 2002, 49 percent of individuals with HIV were drug addicts. This number dropped to 28 percent in 2008. The only real con to Portugal's drug policy was that there was a very small increase in adult drug users at the same time there was a decrease in the adolescents, problem users, and prisoners. However, over the last 14 years there have been far more pros that easily outweigh that single