Why hardly anyone dies from a drug overdose in Portugal
As US state legislatures debate issues like marijuana legalization and decriminalization, Portugal's 15-year experience may be informative
The Washington Post (US)
Friday, June 5, 2015
Friday, June 5, 2015
Portugal decriminalized the use of all drugs in 2001. Weed, cocaine, heroin, you name it -- Portugal decided to treat possession and use of small quantities of these drugs as a public health issue, not a criminal one. The drugs were still illegal, but now getting caught with them meant a small fine and maybe a referral to a treatment program -- not jail time and a criminal record. The prevalence of past-year and past-month drug use among young adults has fallen since 2001.
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