From Portugal to Portland: How Drug Decriminalization is Playing Out in Two Different Countries
In 2001, after two decades of increasing rates of drug use and addiction, the European nation of Portugal took a radical step: it decriminalized drug use. By many measures, the gambit has worked exceptionally well. Portugal’s prison population dropped significantly in the years following decriminalization, as did its HIV transmission rates via syringes. Despite warnings to the contrary, the country did not experience any sort of dramatic rise in drug consumption. In the decades since,...
Source: portlandmercury.com
