Cato paper on Portugal drug decriminalization.

http://www.cato.org/....php?pub_id=10080

(Teaser from a 4 MB (34 page) PDF paper)

Drug Decriminalization in Portugal:
Lessons for Creating Fair and Successful Drug Policies

by Glenn Greenwald

On July 1, 2001, a nationwide law in Portugal took effect that decriminalized all drugs, including cocaine and heroin. Under the new legal framework, all drugs were "decriminalized," not "legalized." Thus, drug possession for personal use and drug usage itself are still legally prohibited, but violations of those prohibitions are deemed to be exclusively administrative violations and are removed completely from the criminal realm. Drug trafficking continues to be prosecuted as a criminal offense.

While other states in the European Union have developed various forms of de facto decriminalization Â whereby substances perceived to be less serious (such as cannabis) rarely lead to criminal prosecution Â Portugal remains the only EU member state with a law explicitly declaring drugs to be "decriminalized." Because more than seven years have now elapsed since enactment of Portugal's decriminalization system, there are ample data enabling its effects to be assessed.

Notably, decriminalization has become increasingly popular in Portugal since 2001. Except for some far-right politicians, very few domestic political factions are agitating for a repeal of the 2001 law. And while there is a widespread perception that bureaucratic changes need to be made to Portugal's decriminalization framework to make it more efficient and effective, there is no real debate about whether drugs should once again be criminalized. More significantly, none of the nightmare scenarios touted by preenactment decriminalization opponents Â from rampant increases in drug usage among the young to the transformation of Lisbon into a haven for "drug tourists" Â has occurred.

[...]

I had no idea Portugal had done this. It'll be interesting to see the details. Real-world data is extremely important in deciding what to do about US drug laws...

(Via Sullivan)

Cheers,
Scott.

Post #307,030 by Another Scott 4/8/09 7:48:52 PM Reply	Cato paper on Portugal drug decriminalization. http://www.cato.org/....php?pub_id=10080 (Teaser from a 4 MB (34 page) PDF paper) Drug Decriminalization in Portugal: Lessons for Creating Fair and Successful Drug Policies by Glenn Greenwald On July 1, 2001, a nationwide law in Portugal took effect that decriminalized all drugs, including cocaine and heroin. Under the new legal framework, all drugs were "decriminalized," not "legalized." Thus, drug possession for personal use and drug usage itself are still legally prohibited, but violations of those prohibitions are deemed to be exclusively administrative violations and are removed completely from the criminal realm. Drug trafficking continues to be prosecuted as a criminal offense. While other states in the European Union have developed various forms of de facto decriminalization Â whereby substances perceived to be less serious (such as cannabis) rarely lead to criminal prosecution Â Portugal remains the only EU member state with a law explicitly declaring drugs to be "decriminalized." Because more than seven years have now elapsed since enactment of Portugal's decriminalization system, there are ample data enabling its effects to be assessed. Notably, decriminalization has become increasingly popular in Portugal since 2001. Except for some far-right politicians, very few domestic political factions are agitating for a repeal of the 2001 law. And while there is a widespread perception that bureaucratic changes need to be made to Portugal's decriminalization framework to make it more efficient and effective, there is no real debate about whether drugs should once again be criminalized. More significantly, none of the nightmare scenarios touted by preenactment decriminalization opponents Â from rampant increases in drug usage among the young to the transformation of Lisbon into a haven for "drug tourists" Â has occurred. [...] I had no idea Portugal had done this. It'll be interesting to see the details. Real-world data is extremely important in deciding what to do about US drug laws... (Via Sullivan) Cheers, Scott.
Post #307,032 by drook 4/8/09 8:24:19 PM Reply	HAAAAAAHAHAHAHA "Real-world data is extremely important in deciding what to do about US drug laws... " You're funny. -- Drew
Post #307,037 by Another Scott 4/8/09 9:01:03 PM Reply	:-D
Post #307,099 by jb4 4/9/09 10:23:06 PM Reply	Re: HAAAAAAHAHAHAHA Yes...it makes it more likely that we'll do something else. After all, we don't want the damn ferriners telling us what to do, dadgummit! (That was how they said it just 6 monthes ago, wannit?) Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends! (Disk crashes notwithstanding...) jb4

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