{"id":1769,"date":"2011-07-12T11:33:54","date_gmt":"2011-07-12T15:33:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2011\/07\/portugal-ends-drug-prohibition-and-addiction-declines.html"},"modified":"2011-07-12T11:33:54","modified_gmt":"2011-07-12T15:33:54","slug":"portugal-ends-drug-prohibition-and-addiction-declines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2011\/07\/portugal-ends-drug-prohibition-and-addiction-declines.html","title":{"rendered":"Portugal ends drug prohibition and addiction declines"},"content":{"rendered":"According to AFP 1 July 2011,\n\nPortugal drug law show results ten years on, experts say<\/a>\n
\nHealth experts in Portugal said Friday that Portugal’s decision\n10 years ago to decriminalise drug use and treat addicts rather than\npunishing them is an experiment that has worked.\n

\n\n<\/a>\n“There is no doubt that the phenomenon of addiction is in decline in\nPortugal,” said Joao Goulao, President of the Institute of Drugs and Drugs\nAddiction, a press conference to mark the 10th anniversary of the law.\n

\nThe number of addicts considered “problematic” — those who repeatedly\nuse “hard” drugs and intravenous users — had fallen by half since the\nearly 1990s, when the figure was estimated at around 100,000 people,\nGoulao said.\n

\nOther factors had also played their part however, Goulao, a medical\ndoctor added.\n

\n“This development can not only be attributed to decriminalisation but\nto a confluence of treatment and risk reduction policies.”\n

\nPortugal’s holistic approach had also led to a “spectacular” reduction\nin the number of infections among intravenous users and a significant\ndrop in drug-related crimes, he added.\n<\/blockquote>\nSo what did they do?\n\n\n

\nA law that became active on July 1, 2001 did not legalise drug use,\nbut forced users caught with banned substances to appear in front of\nspecial addiction panels rather than in a criminal court.\n

\nThe panels composed of psychologists, judges and social workers\nrecommended action based on the specifics of each case.\n

\nSince then, government panels have recommended a response based largely\non whether the individual is an occasional drug user or an addict.\n

\nOf the nearly 40,000 people currently being treated, “the vast majority\nof problematic users are today supported by a system that does not treat\nthem as delinquents but as sick people,” Goulao said.\n<\/blockquote>\nNow there’s a concept!\n

\nA concept that won’t provide more customers for private prison companies\nlike CCA.\nWhich is a good thing!\nNo private prison in Lowndes County, Georgia.\nUse that tax money for rehabilitation and education.\n

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