15
Years & Counting
In 2001, the Portuguese government did
something that the US Government may never bring itself to do. After years of waging an aggressive war on
drugs, it elected to reverse its approach entirely: It decriminalized them all!
As recently as the year 2000, Portugal had one
of the worst problems in Europe with drugs. A whopping 1% of the population was
addicted to heroin, which is kind of mind-blowing unless you live in the United
States. Then Prime Minister Guterres and the leader of the opposition got
together and did something really bold: They said something like, “Look, we’ve been trying the ‘American’ way.
Every year, we crack down more — we put more & more people in prison, but every
year the problem gets worse. Let’s do this differently.”
Here’s Differently: Since July of 2001 if anyone
is found in “possession” of less than a 10-day supply of anything from
marijuana to heroin, he or she is sent to a three-person Commission for the Dissuasion
of Drug Addiction, usually comprised of a social worker, a lawyer, and a
doctor. The “Commission” recommends treatment for the “offending” and occasionally
a minor fine; otherwise, the individual is sent home. In other words, if the drugs are for personal
consumption, there is no threat of being imprisoned.
Before you get all “bent” you might want to
know that Drugs in Portugal are still illegal; but the rules have changed: Users
are sent to counseling and sometimes treatment instead of criminal
courts and prison. The switch from “drugs” as a criminal issue to a public
health issue was primarily aimed at preventing users from going underground. On
the other hand, growing and selling such drugs can result in serious prison
time.
Portugal’s approach and monumental success can
undoubtedly be attributed to taking politics out of drugs. The leaders
of the country decided to leave it up to a panel of scientists to determine
what to do; then they agreed to follow through on the panel’s findings /
recommendations. This included decriminalizing everything, from cannabis to
crack — the nonpartisan panel also concluded that the crucial next step absolutely
required spending all the money the government had been paying out for arresting drug users, trying drug users in
court, and or imprisoning drug users —
must instead be diverted toward reconnecting drug addicts with society so as to
give them a purpose in life.
The results have been impressive by most
anyone’s measure . . . Here's what happened within just the first seven years (2001 through 2008):
·
There were small increases in illicit drug use among adults, but decreases for adolescents and problem users such as drug addicts and prisoners.
Drug-related court cases dropped
66%.
Drug-related HIV cases dropped 75%. In 2002, 49% of people with AIDS were addicts; by 2008 that number fell to 28%.
The number of people treated for drug addiction rose 20 percent.
There were small increases in illicit drug use among adults, but decreases for adolescents and problem users such as drug addicts and prisoners.
Drug-related HIV cases dropped 75%. In 2002, 49% of people with AIDS were addicts; by 2008 that number fell to 28%.
The number of regular drug users
held steady at less than 3% of the population for marijuana and less than 0.3% for
both heroin and cocaine — further, figures showed that decriminalization
brought no surge in drug use.
The number of people treated for drug addiction rose 20 percent.
The above styled “report” findings were affirmed in
April of 2009 by the Cato Institute (an American libertarian think tank headquartered in
Washington, D.C.) who published an all-inclusive
case study regarding the decriminalization of drugs in Portugal. You may be shocked to learn that the data from
their report indicated that “decriminalization” had no adversative effect on
drug “usage rates” as you might otherwise expect. But (surprise!
surprise!), drug-related pathologies such as sexually transmitted
diseases and deaths, due to drug use was shown to have decreased dramatically.
More than 7 years since the end of 2008, the
country has seen drug abuse drop by half. Portuguese Government officials are
thrilled with the results. The logic: instead of creating harsher conditions
for drug users, why not give them a way out?
Simply put, Portugal has not been run into the ground by a nation of
drug addicts as many critics predicted. In fact, by most measures, the drug
problem is doing far better than it was before.
Although Portugal was the first country that
decriminalized the use of all drugs with favorable results, both Spain and
Italy have since followed Portugal's example; but is decriminalization of drug
users enough? Who among us is bold and brave enough to cross
the next bridge toward finally eliminating the problems associated with drug
abuse by legalizing drugs completely?
Clearly the Portuguese Experiment has
shown that the traditional approach to fighting the War on Drugs has at best been a dismal failure. Perhaps there’s a lesson to be learned
here—just maybe, the United States, which has spent more than a Trillion
Dollars in pursuit of the War on Drugs,
should be looking for answers in comparably tiny Portugal.
More than 3,500 miles due west, throughout
the U.S., we’ve heard the phrase “War on Drugs” for more than 40 years. It
started back in 1971, with Richard Nixon’s classification of drugs as “public enemy No. 1,” and offensive efforts
toward its demise have escalated since to the point that many Americans are now
just as afraid of a “militarized” local police force than a drug “deal gone bad”;
the simple fact that this approach has had far too little success only further
complicates the issues of the War on Drugs and a “storm-trooper” styled police
force.
One need only watch CNN most any hour of the
day to learn that about 570,000 people die annually
(47,500 each month) due to drug use. In truth you’ll probably be happy to learn that
figure is actually a bit misleading. The
570,000 per year figure breaks down
to about 440,000 from disease related to tobacco use; 85,000 deaths are due to
alcohol consumption; 20,000 deaths are due to illegal drugs, but another 20,000
deaths are attributed to prescription drug abuse. So, technically only about
40,000 deaths per year or about 333 Americans die each month resulting from
those drugs that are subject to the War
on Drugs. That’s right both alcohol
and tobacco, although drugs, are legal throughout the majority of the U. S.
landscape—as they should be.
So why legalize “controlled substances” / illicit
drugs in any case? Perhaps the strongest
and best answer is that alcohol’s Prohibition didn’t work in the U. S.
in the early 20th century.
You may recall that it was “tested” from 1920 through 1933 thanks to the
18th Amendment — so, lesson learned — Right?
Beyond that, eliminating legal penalties from
the production, sale and use of controlled substances / illicit
drugs would alleviate at least a dozen (12)
on-going social & political problems
— they include but are not limited to the following:
1.
Repair U.S. relations with other countries and curtail
anti-American sentiment around the world . . . Legalizing the drug trade would very
likely remove more than a few of the reasons to hate Americans and deprive
politicians in such localities, the opportunity to exploit them.
2. Stabilize many foreign countries and make them a safer place to
live and or travel in . . . Legalizing drugs would definitely affect organized
crime and subversion abroad as much as it would in the U. S. A major source for “guerrilla” funding would be
“no more” as would the motive for kidnapping or assassinating officials and
private individuals, including those U. S. citizens visiting foreign lands.
3. Legalization would lead to the termination of the loss of civil
liberties . . . e.g. far too many corporations and government entities are now
using the drug abuse theme to justify testing their employees for drug use;
even those among us suffering from chronic pain; although such individuals must
turn to prescription drugs so as enable them to function normally among their
peers — they are more often than not, treated as illicit drug addicts.
4. Legalization would reduce the spread of AIDS and other diseases .
. . used or borrowed needles would no longer be deemed a way-of-life for many drug
addicts.
5. Common sense dictates that legal drugs would be safer . . . because
it’s illegal; the drug trade today lacks many of the consumer safety features
common to other markets such as simple instruction sheets, warning labels, and manufacturer
accountability. While drugs remain illegal, society is ultimately forcing drug
trade “underground”— this actually makes the use of drugs, more dangerous than they
need to be. No-one denies that in the current
format regarding illegal drugs is dangerous, but so can aspirin or even table
salt if used improperly.
6. Organized crime would be crippled . . . the Mafia (heroin), Jamaican gangs (crack),
and the organizations like the former Medellin Cartel (cocaine)
stands to lose Billions of Dollars in drug profits from legalization. Bottom line — members of organized crime,
stand to lose the most from legalizing the drug trade.
7.
Legalization would save tax dollars . . . think in terms of the
cost of “trying” (in court) and “incarcerating”
users, traffickers, and those who commit crime to pay for their drugs — the tab
runs well above $10 Billion a year. The
crisis in inmate housing would fade away, saving taxpayers the expense of
building more prisons in the future.
8.
Reduce official corruption . . . Drug-related police corruption (not to mention many elected officials who routinely join
the league of corruption) generally takes one of two major forms: a. Police officers offer drug dealers
protection in their districts for a share of the profits (or demand a “share” under threat of exposure). Or
b. They seize the local dealer's merchandise to peddle themselves—a practice
perfected during U. S. Prohibition
years ago.
9. Unclog the court system . . . When accused of a crime; it takes
months to get to trial. Guilty or innocent, you must live with the anxiety of an
impending trial until the court case finally begins.
10. Drug legalization would “clear the way” for police assets to battle
crimes against people and property . . . Substantial efforts are now expended
against drug activity and drug-related crime; drug legalization would allow “redirection” of such efforts
toward protecting innocent folks from those who continue to commit crime in the
absence of illegal drug laws.
11.
Eliminate prison overcrowding . . . Prison overpopulation is a grim
& persistent problem. To start with, overcrowding makes the prison
environment, violent, faceless, hazardous, and dehumanizing.
12. Legalizing drugs would make our homes and streets safer . . .
Speculative
and statistical links between the illegal drug trade and crime are well
established.
Okay, so beyond a few “social” issues and the
dismal failure toward stopping the sale and use of alcohol via the Prohibition Amendment; what other reasons justify the abandonment of the status-quo
in regard to the War on Drugs?
If the goal is to curtail damage — to folks
here in the U. S. and abroad — the right
policy is to legalize all drugs, not just marijuana as was done by Colorado
and Washington in 2012 who if you’ve been living under the proverbial rock the
last few years, legalized marijuana under state
law for recreational purposes.
In
truth, many legal products cause serious harm, even cigarettes. Case-in-point,
in recent years, about 40 people a year die as a result of: Skiing or
snowboarding accidents; nearly 800 folks are killed every year resulting from
bicycle accidents; several thousand from drowning in back yard and public swimming
pools; more than 30,000 of us die annually from auto accidents; and as noted
above 85,000 deaths per year are due to alcohol consumption and a whopping 440,000
from disease related to the use of tobacco products — Yep, they’re all perfectly legal!
On the other hand as referenced above about 20,000
folks die every year in the U. S. as a direct result of using illicit drugs but
there’s another 20,000 deaths every year from doctor prescribed pharmaceutical medications—the
latter of which are legal too.
Scarce are folks who even imagine banning such
deadly yet legal products (snowboards, bicycles, cars, etc.), mainly because
while harmful when misused, they provide substantial benefit to most folks who
use them in most circumstances. The same circumstance holds for the hardest
of illegal drugs.
Yet millions of folks risk arrest & incarceration;
condone inflated prices & product impurities, in conjunction the whims of
black markets in general to purchase these illegal products; suggesting that people
do derive significant benefits from their use, regardless of what non-users
think.
Item # 8 above in the social & political problems listed deserves re-visiting in
that Black markets generate huge opportunities for corruption, since
participants have a greater incentive to bribe police, prosecutors, judges, and
prison guards.
What's more, illegal drug enforcement encourages
violations of civil liberties, such as no-knock warrants (which have killed dozens of innocent bystanders)
and racial profiling (which generates many more
arrests of blacks than whites despite comparable drug use rates).
The
cost for enforcing the ban against the production and sale of illegal drugs in
the U. S. alone exceeds one (1) Trillion
Dollars to date;
plus it means the government can't collect taxes on drugs sold in the Black
Markets; estimates suggest the U.S. governments (federal,
state, & local) could improve their budgets by at least $85 Billion every
year by legalizing — and taxing — all drugs.
Taking everything into consideration, in a
free society, the presumption is that individuals, not government, get to
decide what is in their own best interest. But perhaps the best reason to
legalize all drugs is that folks who wish to consume or use them have the same
liberty to choose their own well-being as those who consume alcohol, marijuana,
tobacco products, or anything else!
Sources:
We can free up courts around the country by eliminating all laws and making everything legal. It would eliminate all the prison overcrowding. Just turn them loose. Make murder, rape, robbery and all such incidents legal. No need for police, which would free up a lot of tax dollars for give-away programs for people that don't want to work. Heck, I would even quit working and just steal everything I need. Works for me. I could make Meth and sell it on the curb in front of the house. Sounds like a plan to me.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a plan!
Delete