Portugal legalized drug possession & usage in 2001 - Usage & mortality rates have DECREASED

I was stumbling around the internet (literally using stumbleupon), and I came across this image. Interestingly enough, I couldn't find any previous thread made on this - but let me know if there is one. Also the title is slightly misleading but I had to fit it in there. I'm not sure how many drugs were legalized, but I read else where (one of the links below) Portugal "decriminalized the use and possession of heroin, coc aine, marijuana, '___' and other illicit street drugs". I don't live in Portugal (but wish I did ).



And these related articles I found expand on this story:

healthland.time.com...
www.time.com...
www.scientificamerican.com...

reply to post by WhizPhiz


In my jail and prison ministry I have seen many young men and women waiting for trial or serving time for possession or distribution of ' the weed '.

Our jails and prisons are already over crowded.

It seems logical to me it would be cost wise to decriminalize the use, possession and distribution of certain drugs.

More effort needs to be spent in the stopping of the manufacture of meth and other bath tub drugs.

These drugs are dangerous to those making them and to whole communities.

There is an area in my city that you can drive down the street and smell meth being cooked.
This is a very serious problem.

If municipalities would use resources saved when decriminalizing ' the weed' to eradicate meth production it would be of more benefit to our cities.

I remember when they announced they were doing this, everyone thought it would fuel addictions, chaos and anarchy. Just look at the upheaval and disarray Portugal is in almost a decade into this
I hate seeing MSM sidestep this, it's proof that removing the forbidden aspect and demonization reduces the allure. You tell people "NO!" and they want it. You turn around and say, "Ok...here" and not so many want it anymore.

reply to post by dizziedame


You live in California, too huh?

Theres always, ALWAYS an RV parked by my house and they smell like chemicals...



If this was truly a "Free" Society, I would be able to blow those trucks up before they did it themselves

There are drugs that are very dangerous for personal use. That said, the massively dangerous cartel businesses make a lot of its money on providing illegal drugs to countries where they are illegal. If all countries were to legalize all drugs, these cartels would lose all their business and a good amount of violence would stop. Not to mention, with these kind of results in Portugal, drug use would decrease as well, bringing the fatality rate down significantly on all sides of the coin, dealer and user. So, why do we continue to criminalize these drugs?

Oh, right. They are against 'family values.' Values isn't a good excuse when it's clear how many lives we could be improving and saving by decriminalizing illicit drugs.

This was on CNBC's "Marijuana USA" the other day. It was right after some country bumpkin cop from Kentucky saying how "DURK DURK LEGALIZING ANY DRUG JUST MAKES MORE CRIMINALS DURK DURK". Some drugs are harmless--but legalization is the first thing that strips the highly dangerous drugs "cool factor" for kids. When these drugs aren't shrouded in mystery like they are on the black market, kids can ask questions, decide if they really should use, or not, and don't fear getting arrested for talking about their experinces. Probably makes too much sense to be passed in the USA--our truly understanding of drugs such as MDMA (ecstasy), '___', marijuana, non harmful, non addictive drugs, is so out of whack that we will never have a coherant drug policy that makes sense.

reply to post by WhizPhiz


Portugal rules! I heard about this. It's true about less people using and dying from the substances in question when they are legalized. Same thing happened in the Netherlands.

Did you know it's legal to have 1 gram of any drug you want in Rome, Italy?

Weird, right?

What if you had a gram of '___'? That would be quite a lot.

Legalize it. I think that there are Businesses that are afraid of
what Marijuana and hemp would do to their profits. For example,
Machine grade oil can be extracted from hemp seeds, hemp has
a higher cellulose fiber content than that of wood. Imagine, making
clothes, paper, furniture even houses from hemp? You would
think that combating inflation, creating new markets and jobs would
be a high priority of governments and businesses alike. They are just
going about it the wrong way. Most established businesses need to be
included and not excluded from the process. Established businesses
could diversify into the new markets and bring in much needed funding
for which I'm sure their ROI's would be more than satisfactory. Marijuana
is already being used as a pain reliever and replacement for steroids
in cancer patients. I just wonder what the hubbub is about it all?

hi there,

I live in Portugal...(and work in the UK).....and trust me ,usage has not gone down.

they still have big probs with drugs...the problem is that Portugal is a gateway country ...SOOOOO many drugs go through this country !!!...its just never talked about that much ...

snoopyuk

reply to post by snoopyuk

and trust me ,usage has not gone down.

I think I would rather believe documented research and statistics over someone saying "trust me". I know Portugal still probably has fairly heavy drug usage rates, but I believe legalization has had a positive effect. How long have you been living there anyway?