Portugal for a while has been the shining example that advocates point to when they talk about decriminalizing drug use.
But years after doing away with punishment for those who use weed, cocaine, heroin and other drugs in 2001, Portugal is apparently having second thoughts, according to an article in the Washington Post.
Portugal authorities not only turn a blind eye to drug use, but actively encourages addiction by handing out clean syringes, pipes and packets of heroin-diluting agents.
There’s little to nothing that police can do when it comes to open drug use, even if it takes place outside someone’s private residence, a school or a church.
Portugal has made it very easy to become a hard-core addict, something that advocates in the U.S. want to emulate.
Those who want to decriminalize drugs say that instead of spending money on law enforcement and incarceration, we should dedicate funds to drug treatment and rehabilitation efforts.
It’s a fine argument, but things haven’t quite worked out that way in Portugal, according to the Post.
Not only are there years-long waits for state-funded rehab treatment, but the number of people seeking help has fallen dramatically.
It could be a chicken-and-egg situation, sure, but the bottom line is that this heavenly vision of state-sponsored drug addiction is turning into a bit of a nightmare. Particularly for non-druggie residents and business owners who have to live or work amid increasing squalor.
Funny, but not every citizen wants to see their country turned into an open-air drug bazaar.
Rui Moreira, mayor of the city of Porto, points out that while it’s against the law to smoke tobacco outside a school or hospital and that it is “forbidden to advertise ice cream and sugar candies,” addicts can shoot up anywhere they please.
“We’ve normalized it,” he said.
Well, duh.
To be fair, Portugal’s pro-drug experiment at first appeared to be working, with overdoses, HIV transmission by syringe rates and prison…
Read the full article here
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