Decriminalization of Drugs in Portugal

1
Decriminalization of Drugs in Portugal

• Carmichael Cruz
• Zachary Horn
• Christine Le
• Amy Olivas
• Stacey Sugiono

2
Facts History of Portugal

• Population 10million, land 92,00 square
  kilometers
• Said to have homogenous culture, language,
  religion, ethnicity
• 55 years of dictatorship and poverty
• 1974 - Revolution
• Finally establishing democracy and economic
  growth
• 1986 Joined the European Union

3
History

• With economic success came modern problems of
  drug abuse
• Worsened in 1990s
• 100,000 drug addicts 1/3rd in Lisboa
• Data is not taken as thoroughly in Portugal

4
Drug Arrests

• 1991 4,667 arrested
• 1995 6,380 arrested
• 1998 11,395 (235 increase from 1990)
• 61 use or possession for use
• 45 heroin related

5
Seizure of Cannibis

• 1990 1,279
• 1998 2,063

6
Seizure of Heroin

• 1990 1,346
• 1998 3,750

7
Seizure of Cocaine

• 1990 346
• 1998 1,377

8

• In 1999 there were 40 addiction consultation
  centers, 5 rehabilitation centers, 2 therapeutic
  communities, and 4 day centers
• 95.4 heroin users

9
Treatment Cases

• 1990 56,438
• 1999 288, 038

10

•  
• Commission of National Drug Strategy created to
  combat high drug use in 90s

11
Decriminalization Legislature

• In July 2001 Portugal formally decriminalized
  drug possession for personal use with Law
  30/2000.
• This law decriminalized the possession of up to a
  ten day supply of all types of illicit
  substances.
• However, the selling and trafficking of these
  drugs were still a criminal charge.
• Introduced a system of referral to Commissions
  for the Discussion of Drug Addiction

12
Political Reactions

• Conservative politicians in Portugal feared that
  a wave of drug terrorists would descend upon
  Portugal because of the lack of drug supervision.
• ''We are offering sun, beaches and any drug you
  like,'' said Paulo Portas, leader of the
  conservative Popular Party.
• Police focus had been turned to drug traffickers
  as opposed to drug users Portugals Socialist
  government now views users as victims who need
  help in the forms of counseling.

13
Drug Users Respond

• A drug addict, Margarida Costa, believes that
  this new system will be more beneficial than
  jail. She states, In fact, I started taking
  drugs in jailYou could get everything you wanted
  in there, everyday.

14
Doctors Thoughts

• "My aim is to support them, to tell them they can
  have another way of life - a good life." - Dr
  Maria Antonia Almeida Santos, from Lisbon
  Toxicology Commission
• Prior to the decriminalization some doctors
  claimed that, patients would even ask them to
  unplug his intercom to his secretary for fear
  that someone might listen in on the consultation.

15
Media

• High number of HIV/AIDS cases
• Campaigns to raise awareness
• Television, radio press, posters in clubs and
  bars

16

• The Portuguese Experiment Did Legalizing Drugs
  Work?

• Inaccurate
• Discussion of unambiguous success of drug
  decriminalization and its impact

17
CATO

• Five years after, illegal drug use among teens in
  Portugal declined
• Rates of new HIV infections from sharing dirty
  needles dropped
• Number of people seeking treatment for drug
  addiction more than doubled

18
Judging by every metric, decriminalization in
Portugal has been a resounding successit has
enabled the Portuguese government to manage and
control the drug problem far better than
virtually every other Western country does


19

• Time magazine says decriminalization has been a
  huge success
• Met its central goal
• Addicts learning to control drug usage or get
  clean at treatment centers

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Skepticism

• Not sole reason for decline in drug use
• Peter Reuter, UMCP criminologist
• Global decline in marijuana usage
• Drug policy has been success for NOW
• Drugs remain harmful
• New problems will arise

22
The Cato Report

• Drug Decriminalization in Portugal
• Looked at data mostly from Institute on Drugs and
  Drug Addiction reports
• What is the Cato Institute?
• A Libertarian Think Tank
• Funded initially by one of the Koch brothers
  (Koch Industries)
• Rupert Murdoch was on board of directors
• Many corporation give money to Cato
• Visa, Wal-Mart, Microsoft

23
Portugal a drug haven for tourists?

• No increase in drug tourism - 95 Portuguese

24
Lifetime Prevalence Rates

• 13-15 yr olds, all drugs
• 14.1 in 2001 to 10.6 in 2006

25
Lifetime Prevalence Rates

• 16-18 yr olds, all drugs
• 14.1 in 1995 to 27.6 in 2001 to 21.6 in 2006

26
Lifetime Prevalence Rates

• Gone down for 13-18 yr olds, all drugs
• Slight increase in older groups from aging
• expected as the drug generation gets older
• Usage in teens key to predicting future rates, so
  that is emphasized

27
Drug Related Phenomena

• The number of people in substitution treatment
  increased from 6,040 in 1999 to 14,877 in 2003
• HIV and AIDS going down (by diagnosis)

28
Drug Related Death

• Opiates 281 in 2001 to 133 in 2006

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• All Drugs 400 in 1999 to 290 in 2006

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Drug Rates vs EU

• Portugal lower throughout 2001-2006

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Conclusions

• Destigmatization of drug use
• Treatment goes up after user no longer afraid of
  punishment
• Drug related harms go down because more people
  are being treated
• Free citizens from fear of prosecution and
  imprisonment and push people to treatment

34
British Journal of Criminology

• Small increases in reported illicit drug use
  amongst adults
• Reduced illicit drug use among problematic drug
  users and adolescents, at least since 2003
• Reduced burden of drug offenders on the criminal
  justice system
• Increased uptake of drug treatment
• Reduction in opiate-related deaths and infectious
  diseases
• Increases in the amounts of drugs seized by the
  authorities
• Reductions in the retail prices of drugs.

35
Reactions

• Walter Kemp, a spokesperson for the United
  Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, says
  decriminalization in Portugal "appears to be
  working.
• In its 2009 World Drug Report the UN said,
  "These conditions keep drugs out of the hands of
  those who would avoid them under a system of full
  prohibition, while encouraging treatment, rather
  than incarceration, for users. Among those who
  would not welcome a summons from a police officer
  are tourists, and, as a result, Portugal's policy
  has reportedly not led to an increase in drug
  tourismIt also appears that a number of
  drug-related problems have decreased.

36
U.S. Response

• In September 2010, White House drug czar Gil
  Kerlikowske visited Portugal to gain insight into
  their drug reform program.
• The Obama administration opposes legalization of
  drugs.
• Agrees with Portugal in that, Looking at this as
  both a public safety problem and a public health
  problem seems to make a lot more sense."
  Kerlikowske
• However, an increasing number of American cities
  are offering nonviolent drug offenders a chance
  to choose treatment over jail and it seems to be
  working.

37
Drug Courts in the U.S.

• In 2010, San Francisco instituted a court program
  where judges offered drug addicts the chance to
  go to rehab, get jobs, move houses, find primary
  care physicians and even remove their tattoos.
  Data showed that these courts reduced drug
  relapses and saved money.
• There are now more than 2,400 drug courts in the
  U.S. serving 120,000 people.

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Influence on other countries

• a record 93 countries worldwide have offered
  alternatives to jail time for drug abuse in 2010

40
Switzerland

• Heroin maintenance clinics (1994)
• addiction has steadily declined.
• No one has died from an overdose since the
  program began
• The program is credited with reducing crime and
  improving addicts' health.

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Canada

• Vancouver has North America's first legal drug
  consumption room
• "a safe, health-focused place where people inject
  drugs and connect to health care services."

43
Other countries that decriminalized small amounts
of personal use of drugs

• Brazil
• Spain
• Italy
• Uruguay

44
Doesnt work on all countries

• Depends on how and what kind of policy is
  implemented
• Ex In the Netherlands, where police ignore the
  peaceful consumption of illegal drugs, drug use
  and dealing are rising, according to the European
  Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.
  Five Dutch cities are implementing new
  restrictions on marijuana cafes after a wave of
  drug-related gang violence.

45
Should the United States follow Portugals path?

• The Obama administration firmly opposes the
  legalization of drugs, saying that it would
  increase access and promote acceptance.
• War on Drugs
• The U.S. is spending 74 billion this year on
  criminal and court proceedings for drug
  offenders, compared with 3.6 billion for
  treatment

46
Should the United States follow Portugals path?

• Some do not consider Portugal a realistic model
  for the U.S. because of differences in size and
  culture between the two countries.
• America has the highest rates of cocaine and
  marijuana use in the world
• Population of US is 29 times larger than the 10.6
  million citizens of Portugal

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References

• http//news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own
  _correspondent/8106689.stm
• http//www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,189
  3946,00.html
• http//www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?idp
  ortugal-drug-decriminalization
• http//blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tomchivers/10
  0047485/portugal-drug-decriminalisation-a-resoundi
  ng-success-will-britain-respond-no/
• http//www.treatmentsolutionsnetwork.com/blog/inde
  x.php/2011/01/03/portugals-drug-reform-success/
  http//www.idpc.net/php-bin/documents/BFDPP_BP_14_
  EffectsOfDecriminalisation_EN.pdf.pdf
• http//www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/
  2009/04/26/portugal
• http//news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1441460.stm
• http//www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/
  2009/04/08/portugal/index.html
• http//www.nytimes.com/2001/11/05/world/portugal-s
  -drug-users-go-to-experts-panel-not-jail.html
• http//www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jul/20/drugsa
  ndalcohol.uk