Drug Decriminalization

Portugal's success would be the ideal model for Canada to base decriminalization of illicit drugs. Although Canada does not have as much of a drug epidemic that Portugal had before decriminalization, statistics show the country has rising rates of both heroin and meth use. Treating this evident problem with a different approach has been gathering heavy support over the years. Support behind this legal movement in Canada includes the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition and the Green Party of Canada. Not only were drugs decriminalized in Portugal, the entire system was reconstructed to aid those addicted. Both the reduce in law enforcement towards illicit drugs and the increase in funding towards treatment paid off greatly for Portugal. Overdose death went down by 72% while the spread of HIV went down by 94%. Canada has prioritized the war on drugs, although the method being followed does not prove effective. It might prove better to abandon this current war in favour for public health, following Portugal's lead in providing harm reduction treatment and treating the addiction as the public health crisis that it

20. The following are trends in substance abuse treatment today except for A. chain smoking regarded as an addiction B.human rights seen as a practical philosophy C.counseling of clients in moderate drinking D.public opinion favoring more imprisonment of drug users ANS:D PG42 21. The drug court movement promotes what action with individuals whose legal problems are related to their addiction? A. decarceration – treatment in the community B. incarceration – treatment in the prison system C. requirement to serve out the remainder of prison term, in case of relapse D. moving clients into “wet house”. ANS:A PG46

Portugal was in the midst of a drug crisis. A large number Portuguese people that returned to Portugal after the military dictatorship that ended in 1974 were using drugs. (Thornton) Hard drugs were getting into the country easily due to open borders. The country saw a surge in numerous public health concerns such as drug abuse, addiction, overdosing, and new cases of HIV/AIDS. “In 1999, nearly one per cent of the population—a hundred thousand people—were heroin addicts, and Portugal reported the highest rate of drug-related AIDS deaths in the European Union.” (Spector) Initially, the government responded with traditional methods of drug control- policies that criminalized drug users harshly with prison and fines, (Aleem) but the policies weren’t working very well. The

For many years, a real push has been looming on the idea of legalizing now illegal drugs. This has become a hot debate throughout nations all over the world, from all walks of life. The dispute over the idea of decriminalizing illegal drugs is and will continue on as an ongoing conflict. In 2001, Drug decriminalization in all drugs, including cocaine and heroin, became a nationwide law in Portugal (Greenwald). Ethan Nadelman, essayist of “Think again: Drugs,” states his side of the story on the continuing criminalization of hard drugs, in which he stand to oppose. Whether it is for the good of human rights or not, decriminalizing drugs may be a good head start for a new beginning.

“Drug policy regarding the control of the traditional illicit substances (opiates, cocaine, cannabis) is currently moving through upbeat times in almost all Western countries. Prohibition on the basis of repressive law enforcement not only seems to fail on a large scale, but also to create vast additional costs, problems, and harm for drug consumers, who often find themselves in extreme social, economic, and health conditions” (Fischer 1995: 389).

Many drug addicts do not have jobs or any legal means of generating income; they resolve to criminal activities such as theft, robbery, or aggressive panhandling. Due to the addictive nature of drugs, the user will be compelled to want more and more in order to continue feeling “normal”. It is what fuels their addiction and as a result, a lack of motivation to do anything other than obtaining more drugs. The drug addict’s family suffers from the effects of the drug addiction as well through emotional stress and psychological decay. Drug addicts also encourage illegal drug trafficking by helping fund criminal organizations. In fact, drug addicts are the reason why the billion dollar drug industry is as lucrative as it is. Without drug addicts, drug traffickers would have no customers or buyers to help generate income. Huge amounts of tax revenue is going towards the war on drugs which includes money going into police departments, border agencies, harm reduction programs, and anti-drug campaigns. The tax money being used to fight drugs could be used to better our education or health systems; instead it is being used to fund harm reduction programs such as Insite.

In July, 2001 Portugal 's Law 30/20001 decriminalized all drugs. Under the new law, possession of small amounts of drugs (~10 days or less worth of personal use), while still legally prohibited, were no longer grounds for criminal offense. This approach was taken from a public health perspective and was accompanied by a concurrent increase in treatment and harm-reduction options.2 The combination of decriminalization, taking drug-users out of the criminal justice system, and investment in harm-reduction, providing users with effective treatment options, led to material gains in public health, including significant reductions of drug overdose death and HIV infection.3

In the US, according to CQ Researcher, the number of those that used heroin had more than doubled between the years of 2002 and 2004 and doubled again between 2011 and 2013. It is a growing issue especially due to

One of the other countries that has gone a new direction is Portugal. In 2001 Portugal decriminalized all drugs and instead of arresting people and throwing them into jail they offer drug treatment programs that try to prevent the person to go back to using drugs and to make that person feel like someone is there to help not to try to scare them. Being caught for drugs in Portugal with drugs is still a violation and can s be fined with a ticket or community service. You still have to go to court but they will offer you therapeutic treatments. Before decriminalization Portugal had one of the very worst drug problems in the world and that drug problem has caused other problems like HIV infections which Portugal also had a very high rate of infections in the world. After the decriminalization the number of HIV infections and drug related deaths significantly decreased. In just one year the number of crimes halved and drug abuse was starting to go down. Other counties have came up with successful drug policies that countries around the world should start to

In our current model, penalties for drug possession and use are so severe that once a young person is penalized it is difficult, near impossible for them to recover and be a productive member of the society. Decriminalization, on the other hand would encourage users to honestly discuss their drug use with health experts who will act as advisers and not adversaries. In Portugal, for example treatments are recommended for those who have drug problems; repeated offenders are accorded non criminal punishments like suspension of their driver's license or banned from specific neighborhoods known for drug use (Hart, 2013, p. 325). This is a far cry from how drug offences are dealt with here in the United States. It is not uncommon for fines for drug possession to range from anywhere from $100 to $100,000 or more in this country. This is an immense amount of money when taken in light of sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh's documentations that most dealers make the same amount of money if they had taken employment at McDonald's (Hart, 2013, p. 187). Jail sentences range widely depending on the crime charged, the type of drugs involved, and the state's laws, can range from a few days or weeks to 10 years or more in prison. This leads to former inmates exiting from prisons as hardened criminals who

With addiction rates rising every year, the overwhelming drug dilemma has opened the eyes of numerous governments around the world. This paper will discuss what decriminalization is and if decriminalizing drugs in the United States will lead to lower crime rates and lower incarceration rates. In addition, it will discuss the impact decriminalization will have on society, the effect it will have on the economy and finally how it influences the now addicted, should legalization occur. Currently, Portugal has decriminalized all drugs in every drug classification for recreational use. Furthermore, Colorado is the only state in the United States, to have decriminalized marijuana. In looking at the drug laws in Portugal, Colorado, Mexico, and the Netherlands this review will examine what appears to be working and not working of both decriminalizing and keeping certain drug classifications illegal. Multiple web-based articles, books, and peer-reviewed articles were the many sources used in researching this paper. Can drug decriminalization be a practical way to cut down on drug related crimes? Will it benefit society, boost the economy, and help the addict? Based on this research I have concluded at a federal level, the United States should decriminalize

Many of the harms of the drug war had been epitomized decades earlier by the Temperance movement in the United States; despite the unsuccessful alcohol prohibition, policymakers made the moral choice to adopt a similar stance with psychoactive drugs (Thornton, 1991). Fortunately, as society progresses, some countries are acknowledging the inefficiencies and detrimental effects of the drug war; countries such as Portugal and the Netherlands have decriminalized and legalized drug use, respectively (Hughes & Stevens, 2010; Reuter, 2010).

There are some very promising aspects of Portugal’s harm reduction policy as well. In 2001, Portugal

Across Europe the trend to and argument for decriminalization is on the rise. Advocates for legalization of drugs across Europe have touted Portugal 's success and have tried to use it as a unilateral expression of decriminalization as a complete success. Portugal 's success is very much also attributed to an overhaul on the healthcare and treatment of drug addicts rather than being the simple result of decriminalization (Aleem). The Czech Republic recently joined Portugal in decriminalizing drugs in 2010. The mainufacture and distribution of drugs are still highly illegal, but drug users who simply possess or even use are now free of the fear of persecution. Possession of up to 15 grams of marijuana, five grams of hash, 40 psychodelic mushrooms, one and a half grams of heroin, and a gram of cocaine are considered a usable supply of drugs in the Czech Republic. Success within the country can be measured in that roughly 70 percent of the nation 's problematic drug users maintain regular contact with outreach programs and needle exchange programs. The Netherlands has noted a drop in opiate dependencies thanks to a long-established needle exchange program along with allowing the prescription of maintenance doses of diamorphine and methadone (O 'Neill).

By decriminalizing all drugs, governments can minimize overdose rates. Deaths due to drug use have decreased significantly, from approximately 80 in 2001, to 16 in 2012 (The Portugal Experiment …). In 2011 Portugal decided to decriminalize the use of all drugs. This included drugs such as heroin and cocaine, and unleashed a major public health campaign to tackle addiction. As a result, Portugal’s drug addiction has been treated more as a medical challenge rather than as a criminal justice issue. Due to the decriminalization of drugs in Portugal, more people with drug problems have come forward and asked for help. With that, it has lowered the over dose rate