Transcript Reactions - UCSD Cognitive Science

Decriminalization of Drugs in Portugal
 Carmichael Cruz
 Zachary Horn
 Christine Le
 Amy Olivas
 Stacey Sugiono
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
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
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
Seizure of Cannibis
1990 – 1,279
1998 – 2,063
Seizure of Heroin
1990 – 1,346
1998 – 3,750
Seizure of Cocaine
1990 – 346
1998 – 1,377
 In 1999 there were 40 addiction
consultation centers, 5 rehabilitation
centers, 2 therapeutic communities,
and 4 day centers
 95.4% heroin users
Treatment Cases
1990 – 56,438
1999 – 288, 038
 Commission of National Drug Strategy
created to combat high drug use in 90s
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

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;
Portugal’s Socialist government now views
users as victims who need help in the
forms of counseling.
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 jail…You
could get everything you wanted in there, everyday.”
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.
Media
 High number of HIV/AIDS
cases

Campaigns to raise
awareness
 Television, radio & press,
posters in clubs and bars
• “The Portuguese Experiment: Did
Legalizing Drugs Work?”
•Inaccurate
•Discussion of
unambiguous success of
drug decriminalization and
its impact
 Five years after, illegal
drug use among teens
in Portugal declined
CATO
 Rates of new HIV
infections from sharing
dirty needles dropped
 Number of people
seeking treatment for
drug addiction more
than doubled
“
Judging by every metric,
decriminalization in Portugal has been
a resounding success…it has enabled
the Portuguese government to
manage and control the drug problem
far better than virtually every other
Western country does
”
• 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
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
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
Portugal a “drug haven” for tourists?
No increase in drug tourism - 95% Portuguese
Lifetime Prevalence Rates

13-15 yr olds,
all drugs
 14.1% in
2001 to
10.6% in
2006
Lifetime Prevalence Rates
 16-18 yr olds, all
drugs
 14.1% in
1995 to 27.6
in 2001 to
21.6 in 2006
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
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)
Drug Related Death

Opiates:
281 in
2001 to
133 in
2006
 All Drugs: 400 in 1999 to 290 in 2006
Drug Rates vs EU
 Portugal lower
throughout 20012006
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
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.
Reactions

Walter Kemp, a spokesperson for the United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime, says decriminalization in Portugal "appears
to be working.“

In it’s 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 tourism…It also appears that a
number of drug-related problems have decreased.”
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.
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.
Influence on other countries
 a record 93 countries worldwide have offered
alternatives to jail time for drug abuse in 2010
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.
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."
Other countries that decriminalized
small amounts of personal use of drugs:
 Brazil
 Spain
 Italy
 Uruguay
Doesn’t 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.
Should the United States follow Portugal’s 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
Should the United States follow Portugal’s 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
•References
•http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8106689.stm
•http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html
•http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=portugal-drug-decriminalization
•http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tomchivers/100047485/portugal-drug-decriminalisation-a-resounding-success-will-britain-respond-no/
•http://www.treatmentsolutionsnetwork.com/blog/index.php/2011/01/03/portugals-drug-reform-success/ http://www.idpc.net/phpbin/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/drugsandalcohol.uk
•http://www.thenation.com/article/157007/decriminalizing-povert
• http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/27/portugals-drug-policy-pays-eyes-lessons/
•http://www.drugpolicy.org/global/drugpolicyby/westerneurop/switzerland/
•http://www.aolnews.com/2010/08/14/is-portugals-liberal-drug-policy-a-model-for-us/
•http://www.cato.org/pubs/wtpapers/greenwald_whitepaper.pdf
•http://bjc.oxfordjournals.org/content/50/6/999.full