Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
But at least Europeans are dealing with the challenge openly, innovatively, and compas-
sionately.
In contrast, some observers suggest that the US's more punitive policies towards ad-
dicts cause “junkification”: they marginalize addicts and drive them to dangerous, predat-
ory behaviors—from simple stealing, to mugging, to prostitution, to selling drugs to oth-
ers. In other words, if you treat heroin addicts like they're dangerous junkies… that's ex-
actly what they'll become.
The casual American observer who sees more junkies on the streets of Europe than
in the US may conclude they have a bigger drug problem because of their more lenient
drug policies. In fact, according to the 2013 UN World Drug Report, the percentage of
Western Europeans who use illicit drugs is about half that of Americans. The difference is
that theirs are out and about while working with these centers and trying to get their lives
back on track. Ours are more often either dead or in jail. Through its busy maintenance
centers, Switzerland has provided literally millions of heroin fixes, and they've not had
a single overdose death. Overall the US loses roughly 18,000 people a year to hard drug
overdoses, while Europe (with a much larger population) loses half that—roughly 9,000.
Like my European friends, I believe we can adopt a pragmatic policy toward both
marijuana and hard drugs, with a focus on harm reduction and public health, rather than
tough-talking but counterproductive criminalization. It's time to have an honest discus-
sion about our drug laws and their effectiveness. When it comes to drug policy, you can
be soft, hard… or smart.
What if
all
drugs were legal? One European country has attempted it, with results that may
surprise you.
Portugal lived under a repressive right-wing dictator, Antonio Salazar, for a genera-
tion. As societies often do after being kept down and then winning their freedom, when
the Portuguese rid themselves of their dictator, many went overboard on their newfound
freedoms. One consequence: a spike in people addicted to hard drugs.
In the 1980s and 1990s, little Portugal had about 100,000 hard drug addicts. A group
of experts came together to find a solution to this problem. With the goal of establishing a
legal framework for harm reduction, they enacted “Law 30,” which effectively decrimin-
alized the consumption of all drugs. As of 2001, severe criminal penalties for possessing
small amounts of any drug were replaced with slap-on-the-wrist punishments.
After a decade, the new conservative government (which had, by then, replaced the
more progressive government that established Law 30) assessed the law they once op-
posed, and deemed it to be smart and effective. The number of people who reported that
