Portugals Drug Policy

[caseball2051]

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=portugal-drug-decriminalization

interesting read. I didnt know about this until today. Thoughts? Sorry if Im behind the 8ball and this isnt new to anyone.

 

[momofthegoons]

I remember seeing something about this in the news. I would not personaly advocate the legalization of harder drugs like heroin, etc. and I find it fascinating that this approach worked. One would think it could backfire. Of course, they didn't report on the increase of deaths due to overdose. :/

 

[AGBeer]

I remember seeing something about this in the news. I would not personaly advocate the legalization of harder drugs like heroin, etc. and I find it fascinating that this approach worked. One would think it could backfire. Of course, they didn't report on the increase of deaths due to overdose. :/

But let us compare those numbers of deaths via OD to our prescription drug based deaths.
Those would be some interesting numbers

 

[reprobate]

Five years later, the number of deaths from street drug overdoses dropped from around 400 to 290 annually, and the number of new HIV cases caused by using dirty needles to inject heroin, cocaine and other illegal substances plummeted from nearly 1,400 in 2000 to about 400 in 2006, according to a report released recently by the Cato Institute, a Washington, D.C, libertarian think tank.

From the little I know of 'drug history' this general approach was used in some civilized countries a century ago; doctors would prescribe adequate amounts of whatever to keep 'addicts' functioning, many of whom were productive members of society.

Then a few idiot powermonger types (read: Harry Anslinger) screwed it up.

Sigh.

 

[momofthegoons]

Sorry, that's what I get for reading the article and posting before I had my coffee. I completely missed that paragraph. Yipes.

 

[wilf789]

IMO it's one of the greatest shames and frustrations about modern politics (especially with such a trigger-happy, misery-obsessed media) that any talk of drug decriminalisation or legalisation is pretty much political suicide. Especially here in England where even medical marijuana isn't a concept that 90% of people have much support (or perhaps more accurately, knowledge) about.
Really pisses me off that we lag behind other countries in dealing with the true 'evils' of drug use and abuse (i.e. the dealers and the awful side-effects of the drug trade in general) But then that's just my ....

 

[GreenLeaf]

I'm all for the legalization of drugs other than Cannabis and while I do not use them and have not for years I know many people who are addicted to them or once were and who wound up getting over their addiction because of treatment. However I also know people who got free from their drug addictions by going to jail/prison.

I'm also all for clean needle exchanges.