Decriminalize All Drugs Essay

Drug use and addiction is a problem that many nations face. Different countries dealt with this problem differently. When Portugal was struggling with drug use, and the problems that go along with that like overdoses and addiction, they decided to decriminalize all drugs. This was a very controversial decision at the time, and still is today. When the United States was dealing with similar drug problems, they went the opposite way, introducing longer minimum sentences for drug related criminal charges. The effects of these policy changes were dramatic and are still in effect today. Portugal had a tumultuous history, that contributed to the drug crisis it was experiencing. In 1974 the dictatorship that had reigned in Portugal fell. The country

“The law that came into force in 2001 did not legalise drugs; that option was closed off by adherence to the UN convention which obliges signatories to prohibit drugs of misuse” (Hawkes, 2011: 874). Portugal could not legalize all drugs because they are a part of the United Nations, so they took a different path. Decriminalizing drug use and minor possession did not remove all consequences from drug, simply the criminal ones. Before the change in 2001, “Consumption, purchase, possession, or cultivation of drugs were criminal offenses punishable by a fine or up to three months' imprisonment or, if the quantity exceeded an amount necessary for “average individual consumption” for a three-day period, up to a year of confinement” (Laqueur, 2015). Decriminalization altered the point behind the laws surrounding drug use, focusing instead on encouraging people to seek treatment. A specific section of the law even eliminated the possibility of criminal sanctions for drug use. Article 2 of the 2000 drug law states, “The consumption, acquisition and possession for one's own consumption of plants, substances or preparations listed in the tables referred to in the preceding article constitute an administrative offence” (Laqueur,