Portugal drug experiment pays off

[Ste]

The possession and use of any kind of drug was decriminalised in Portugal eight years ago, despite concerns drug use would increase. Instead, usage and the number of drug-related deaths have decreased, and the number of people seeking treatment has risen.

BBC article and news report video.

Further proof of how prohibition is a failure!

[pa_broon74]

Largely I would agree.

But I would say, UK society differs from that of Portugal (I'm not an expert, only been once and can only claim one Portuguese friend.) What with our binge drinking and everything-to-excess culture; I wonder what the outcome would be for us...

That said, I still believe in freedom of choice, so at the very least everything short of the hard stuff should be decriminalised completely.


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[yuri2085]

If 'everything short of the hard stuff' was decriminalised then there would still be a massive drugs trade (coke is class A so it must be hard right) and half the benefits of decriminalisation wouldnt be reaped.


For example it not being (as) profitable to bully and murder and run gangs on the street.

[pa_broon74]

I disagree.

I would imagine there are more people who use cannabis (for example) regularly than use heroin. If the police (as effective as they are) were left to concentrate on the trafficking & supply of hard drugs instead of mucking about with some pot/grass etc;this would be a net benefit.

Generally, regular user's of cannabis don't burglarise their next door neighbour to pay for their supply... (To my knowledge...)

In short, there may still be a drugs trade, but it wouldn't be as big.

When I say hard drugs, I'm not talking about drugs as they are classified by law, but by their impact on society as a whole. I'm not sure I'd class coke as a hard drug, I don't really know, I'd need more info on the social impact it has, (which I think is quite low compared to, say; crack?)


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[Hetzer]

[pa_broon74]

I agree on the point about alcohol, there is a double standard there at the minute.

But by decriminalizing harder drugs (those that cause it's abuser to commit acts of crime to fund their habit) it gets rid of the double standard but not the resultant crime.

Basically, we'd be in a situation where a double standard is removed (an intangable in real terms) but crime remains, where in the case of drug abuse, the cause goes unchallenged.

You're idea about people being able to put what ever they wanted into their bodies is fine in theory, but in practice, if they're funding their habit by helping themselves to your belongings while you're out getting milk at Tesco's; you may feel differently (or not.)

(Yes yes, while you'll doubt extol the virtues of serving up your own brand of justice, I think most folks would prefer not to live in a world where Hezter's Laws rule [ya bass!] )


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Didn't catch anything.

[Hetzer]

[Raffles]

[Ste]

[Hetzer]

[pa_broon74]

To much to to do a point by point rebuttal.

But...

I never said that alcohol should be banned because drugs are, I merely pointed out that removing a double standard won't solve a real world problem. I've made it clear I'm pro-choice.

However, I'm only pro-choice up to a point. When a person's choices begin to adversely affect society then it needs to be addressed.

On treating drug users instead of criminalizing them, I agree (again) up to a point. I hinted in my first post that the police would be free to address the 'trafficking and supply' of hard drugs. To be clear, I wouldn't necessarily advocate punishment for users except in extreme cases where the 'punishment' would part of the help anyway.

On the topic of taking the trade out of the 'gangster's' hand, making heroin etc available on prescription, I'm sceptical about this. I think there would be a positive effect in the short term, but people being people, I think would fall back into old habits.

For example, (I don't know how this works these days admittedly) but there would still need to be legislation and rules in place for prescribing the erst-while illegal substances. At what point do you draw the line with users, and when that line is drawn and we're not going to supply them with any more heroin etc etc that week; where are they going to go?

I suppose the flip side is this; hetzer points out the problems we have with alcohol which it isn't prohibited. If we didn't prohibit the use of hard drugs (I generalise with that term, only the stuff that makes people do daft things) could the same thing happen?

That was a question, I don't know. But given a fair portion of British society likes get tanked up and the subsequent negative social effects it has, whats to say something similar won't happen if we decriminalize the 'hard' drugs?

Before you take that as my firm view, it is not; it's just another question to which I don't really know the answer.

Finally, on Hetzer's preventionism, perhaps you've read to much into what I said. I'm not a supporter of preventionism; far from it. I am a supporter of compromise, if we're to all get a long, that means compromise, we're not going to get to do everything we want to do. I'm talking about extreme things, not smoking a joint or being married to two people at once, or two guys getting hitched. I'm talking about getting stabbed by some oik because he/she wanted your mobile phone because the cash they'd get would buy their next fix, (the one Boot's denied them because they'd had their quota for that week.)


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[Hetzer]

Punish the crime, not the alledged cause of the crime. If that = more of the crime, so be it, it's a worthwhile price for freedom and liberty.

Our lives are made a misery by the over-abundance of pointless, immoral and often illegal laws. Can't do this, can't have that. F.U.C.K.O.F.F., who made you cunts god?
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"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[pa_broon74]

[Kickstart]

[Skudd]

If all drug use was legal, why would someone need to be helped or cured from the use of drugs?
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Famous last words of Humpty Dumpty. " Stop pushing me "
Petty Anarchists look at "1984".............. The Visionary looks at "Animal Farm".

[Fawbish]

Same way some people would seek help to have a better diet, or do more exercise.



Drugs may be great for the head, but theres no arguement that most are damaging to your body (in some small way at least, depending on method of use, obviously)

It would be the same as eating lots of junk food.
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"Oh....it looks like Average Joe's is forfeiting the match!" - "Yeah, its a risky strategy but lets see if it pays off for 'em Cotton."

[cestrian]

[Raffles]

[defblade]

[yuri2085]

[pa_broon74]

[Kickstart]

[pa_broon74]

[Kickstart]

[pa_broon74]