Nearly 20 years after Portugal decriminalized drug use, HIV infections were cut in half, and use of cocaine and heroine decreased by 70%
Muri Assunção
Nearly 20 years after Portugal decriminalized drug use, HIV infections were cut in half, and use of cocaine and heroine decreased by 70%
A controversial approach in the war against drugs implemented in Portugal in 2001 has seen a dramatic reduction in drug-related deaths, dependency and incarceration: Drug use is no longer considered a criminal offense. Users caught carrying any illicit substance deemed for personal use, or about 10 days’s worth of it, can’t be prosecuted. Possession is considered a misdemeanor on par with illegal parking.
In 1999, the small southern European country had the highest rate of drug-related AIDS in the European Union, the second highest prevalence of HIV among people who inject drugs, and an alarmingly increasing number of deaths by drug overdoses, according to a 2018 report by the U.S.-based organization Drug Policy Alliance.
A group of experts in substance addiction was assembled to come up with a plan to find a solution to the crisis. They proposed a bold and groundbreaking strategy, which included fully decriminalization. After it was approved by legislators in 2000, it went into effect in 2001.
Read more at: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/ny-portugal-decriminalization-drugs-hiv-rate-declined-20190506-zi7ryagwk5b3nejuurh37cw6ri-story.html
I'd take it with a grain of salt, read the details of the report.
