Progreassive Portugal

[JackLuis]

Drug decriminalization pays off in Portugal as US weighs its options

hese days, Casal Ventoso is an ordinary blue-collar community — mothers push baby strollers, men smoke outside cafes, buses chug up and down the cobbled main street.

Ten years ago, the Lisbon neighborhood was a hellhole, a "drug supermarket" where some 5,000 users lined up every day to buy heroin and sneaked into a hillside honeycomb of derelict housing to shoot up. In dark, stinking corners, addicts — some with maggots squirming under track marks — staggered between the occasional corpse, scavenging used, bloody needles.

At that time, Portugal, like the junkies of Casal Ventoso, had hit rock bottom: An estimated 100,000 people — an astonishing 1 percent of the population — were addicted to illegal drugs. So, like anyone with little to lose, the Portuguese took a risky leap: They decriminalized the use of all drugs in a groundbreaking law in 2000.

"The disasters that were predicted by critics didn't happen," said University of Kent professor Alex Stevens, who has studied Portugal's program. "The answer was simple: Provide treatment."

People complain about Iraq and Afganistan have gone on soooo long, but Dick Nixon's War on Drugs, has gone on a lot longer.

 

[JackLuis]

Yes Virginia, There is a drug policy.

80-year-old Virginia Republican leads state’s marijuana decriminalization fight

What? If Virginia is thinking about it what does that mean for the rest of the country?

Virginian lawmakers will have a unique opportunity to end criminal penalties for simple possession of marijuana in their state when the 2011 Virginian General Assembly Session convenes on Wednesday, January 12.

Surprisingly enough, 80-year-old Republican Delegate Harvey Morgan, an assistant clinical professor of pharmacy at Virginia Commonwealth University, is leading the charge to decriminalize marijuana possession.

On his TV show 700 Club, Pat Robertson, one of the cornerstone figures of America's Christian right movement and resident of Virginia, warned that current drug laws are having a negative effect on society.

"I'm not exactly for the use of drugs, don't get me wrong, but I just believe that criminalizing marijuana, criminalizing the possession of a few ounces of pot, that kinda thing it's just, it's costing us a fortune and it's ruining young people," Robertson said. "Young people go into prisons, they go in as youths and come out as hardened criminals. That's not a good thing."

 

[sdineen]

Oh corporate state where arent thou

Salazar wouldturn over in hs grave

 

[Pure]

something like this seems to be the way to go. but with the harder drugs, i'd like to see
a) 'registration' in a program, i.e. the authorities know how you are.
once registered you can get the drug for 'own use' at specific 'outlets',
from which nonadults are barred.

b) inducements to get to rehab.
===========

alternately the cops and DAs could generally 'turn a blind' eye, and be under direction to attend to serious problems. so 'possesssion' would be no worse than, say a speeding ticket. police and prison resources should not be wasted on 99% of those presently incarcerated on drug charges, provided they are not guilty of other, non drug crimes.

 

[3113]

Certainly, keeping marijuana illegal is absurd. If liquor is legal there's no reason for marijuana to be illegal. If it was good enough for Presidents Washington and Jefferson, it's good enough for us

 

[Zeb_Carter]

"The War on Drugs" is one of the stupidest ideas a politician ever had. Instead they should have legalized it and sold it via pharmacies. OTC in fact, but you have to ask at the pharmacists counter.

Of course the laws preventing operation of a vehicle while under the influence should still be enforced.

Also those OTC drugs should be taxed at the state level as recreational drugs, much like liquor, beer and cigarettes.

If you want to be stupid and pump your body full of drugs who am I to say you can't? Be stupid that is. And we all know you can't fix stupid.

 

[Handley_Page]

Licensed drug retailers, registered drug users (and a loss of benefits for those not prepared to give up the habit).
It could earn LOADS for a government.