Greetings,
Quotaholics,
My
high school 40th reunion is going to be held this year. I’ve never
been to one, partly because I was living out of state much of that time,
but I might go this time.
When you realize that 40 years have passed you start to think about
how things have changed, or not changed, in that time. I know that in
the 60’s we thought that trips into space would be common for tourists.
Many of us thought that when our hippy generation took over we would
probably end U.S. involvement in wars. Probably nobody back then thought
that there would be a black president. But most surprising of all, at
least to me, is that attitudes about drug use haven’t changed.
For decades now people have been sent to prison for possessing or using
drugs. There are many people who argue that drugs are no more dangerous
than alcohol or tobacco yet these drugs are legal.
We have been sold on the idea of a “war on drugs” and that
is where we have remained in spite of evidence that the war is not working.
As a matter of fact, in part because of drug convictions, “…the
U.S. is home to 5% of the global population but 25% of its prisoners”.
Our prisons are bursting at the seams, punishment doesn’t seem
to be working, yet calls for decriminalization bring forth fears of
drug crazed psychopaths roaming our streets.
But would it work? It turns out that it does. At least if Portugal is
any indication. A recent article in Time
Magazine points out that in 2001 Portugal “…became the first
European country to officially abolish all criminal penalties for personal
possession of drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.”
“At the recommendation of a national commission charged with addressing
Portugal’s drug problem, jail time was replaced with the offer of therapy.
The argument was that the fear of prison drives addicts underground
and that incarceration is more expensive than treatment — so why
not give drug addicts health services instead? Under Portugal’s new
regime, people found guilty of possessing small amounts of drugs are
sent to a panel consisting of a psychologist, social worker and legal
adviser for appropriate treatment (which may be refused without criminal
punishment), instead of jail.”
But that could never work could it? The article continues, “…
a report commissioned by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank,
suggest otherwise.”
“The paper, published by Cato in April, found that in the five
years after personal possession was decriminalized, illegal drug use
among teens in Portugal declined and rates of new HIV infections caused
by sharing of dirty needles dropped, while the number of people seeking
treatment for drug addiction more than doubled.”
“‘Judging by every metric, decriminalization in Portugal
has been a resounding success,’ says Glenn Greenwald, an attorney,
author and fluent Portuguese speaker, who conducted the research. ‘It
has enabled the Portuguese government to manage and control the drug
problem far better than virtually every other Western country does.’”
There’s far more to the article, I recommend that you read it.
Bottom line is that all indications are that the policy has been successful
and in spite of what many would think, drug use is actually down.
Do you feel that it is time for other countries to give this a try?
Do you feel it makes sense to treat people for addictions rather than
punish them for use? Couldn’t we use the same model for drugs
that is currently used for alcohol, punish only when use becomes a hazard
to society, i.e. driving under the influence?
Soberly,
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