Decriminalization In Portugal

By 2001, Portugal decriminalized all drugs such as cocaine, marijuana, and heroin. Instead of seeing it as a criminal offense, it is treated as a public health issue. Although drugs were still against the law, being taken with it held penalties like fines or community service rather than being sent in jail or having a criminal record.

With this solution, Portugal’s drug issue had a significant improvement. After the law was executed, HIV infections decreased impulsively from 1,016 cases to only 56 whereas drug-related deaths have declined from 80 to only 16 in 2012.

Not only did it show positive results regarding the patient’s health, it also gave a new outlook on people who use drugs. During a conference in Vienna last year, United Nations

It supplies the people free remedy to counter their addiction slowly. Treatment centers, health centers, hospitals, pharmacies, NGOs and non-profit organizations also help on distributing methadone, buprenorphine, and buprenorphine/naloxone combination which has also been combatting drugs and approved recently.

Portugal highly recognizes the value of human rights of drug users. They opened their mind to new procedures that led not only to a successful outcome but showed great compassion to its people. Although drug related problems still can’t be helped, through this approach, it is minimized; and until now is effective making Portugal the lowest drug mortality rate country in Western Europe. Like all problems in this world, people can choose whether to treat it with optimism or pessimism. And in Portugal’s case, it chose to take the leap of faith no one dared to see as an option. Not only did it solve the drug problem, countries all over the world admired its take on eradicating drugs by being humanitarian. Somehow being humane turned out to be what people are searching for and maybe it will be the solution to the obstacles we may have to face