FROM CRIMINALIZATION TO REHABILITATION: Abandoning “The War on Drugs” THESIS EDIT | Page 23

PORTUGAL’S EXAMPLE
Portugal, now the leading nation in drug reform, used to take a conservative approach to
their drug problem, similar to what the rest of the world is currently doing. They did this by
criminalizing drug use and vilifying addicts, treating drug addiction as a crime, and issuing harsh
punishments. Unsurprisingly, by 1999 “nearly 1% of the population was addicted to heroin, and
drug-related AIDS deaths in the country were the highest in the European Union, according to
the New Yorker,” according to Zeeshan Aleem, in his article entitled, “14 Years After
Decriminalizing All Drugs, Here’s What Portugal Looks Like.”
Today, Portugal tells a different story. The police in Portugal still search for, seize and
destroy illicit substances. However, according to Wiebke Hollersen, “before doing so, though,
they first weigh the drugs and consult the official table with the list of 10-day limits.” Anyone
possessing drugs in excess of these amounts is treated as a dealer and charged in court. Anyone
with less than the limit is told to report to a body known as a "warning commission on drug
addiction" within the next 72 hours.” The “Warning Commission on Drug Addiction,” as
explained by Aleem, is “a three-person Commission for the Dissuasion of Drug Addiction,
typically made up of a lawyer, a doctor and a social worker. The commission recommends
treatment or a minor fine; otherwise, the person is sent off without any penalty. A vast majority
of the time, there is no penalty.” Fourteen years into decriminalization Portugal is evidence that
not only will a country not be “run into the ground by a nation of drug addicts,” but conditions in
countries have a strong probability of drastically improving.
How have conditions improved in Portugal? According to Aleem, “in terms of usage rate
and health, the data show that Portugal has by no means plunged into a drug crisis. As this chart
from Transform Drug Policy Foundation shows, the proportion of the population that reports