When it comes to drug use, on the other hand, it’s doctors, social workers and public health officials who lead the policies and practices. Now, it’s a public-health success story with a system that's been copied by its European neighbours. Read about our approach to external linking. Documentaries about drug decriminalization in Portugal. Sharda Sekaran the managing director of communications for the Drug Policy Alliance. Coupled with increased harm reduction services, like clean needles, overdose prevention and access to treatment on demand, decriminalizing drug use and removing the fear of punishment has meant fewer barriers to accessing vital health interventions, and a general reduction and stabilization of rates of death, disease and addiction. No one in Portugal gets arrested for simple drug use or low level possession for personal use anymore, even if they relapse or show no interest in treatment. Fi Glover, Henrietta Moore and two panellists inspect Portugal’s policy which sees drug users as patients rather than criminals. Hopefully, people will notice and help soften the ground for similar policies in the U.S., where political will and vision are needed more than ever to combat our dual national crises of mass incarceration and opiate dependency. Presenter Fi Glover, academic Henrietta Moore, professor Alex Stevens from Kent University andTony Duffin of the Ana Liffey drug project in Ireland discuss how far Portugal’s policy has been successful and whether it would work in the perfect country. Glenn Greenwald, “Drug Decriminalization in Portugal: Lessons for Creating Fair and Successful Drug Policies,” Cato Institute, 2009. Portugal had one of the worst heroin epidemics in the Western world. Why was Portugal’s drug control policy so urgently needed? “What about after relapse? Today, whilst drugs remain illegal, users do not receive a criminal record and are instead referred to rehabilitation and treatment programmes. The architect of Portugal’s policy Joao Goulao explains how the policy was implemented and Doctor Rodrigo Coutinho explains how it was taken on by health services. Following decriminalization, Portugal had the lowest rate of lifetime marijuana use in people over 15 in the E.U. See all clips from My Perfect Country: Drug Decriminalisation in Portugal, Europe and the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only, Online, Americas and the Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East & UK DAB/Freeview only, East Asia, Australasia, South Asia & West and Central Africa only, East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only, Programmes, videos and clips: Ocean Stories. THE EFFECTS OF DECRIMINALIZATION OF DRUG USE IN PORTUGAL The Beckley Foundation Drug Policy Programme (BFDPP, www.internationaldrugpolicy.net) is a non-governmental initiative dedicated to providing a rigorous independent review of the effectiveness of national and international drug … I was introduced to the Portuguese experience during a visit to the country in January 2011. Sign up to receive action alerts and news about drug policy reform. (Photo: A Portuguese flag flies above a demonstration against austerity, Lisbon, 2013. Credit: Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images), Catch up with Henrietta Moore, Fi Glover and Martha Lane Fox. Show off your support for drug policy reform with our new Party Safer t-shirts and tank tops. It may also be the first time many of them see the prisons in Norway, where inmates are taught how to reintegrate into society by allowing them to live as much like normal people and as little like prisoners as possible. Greenwald, pp. Any form of decriminalization must inevitably be compared to the world’s most famous example, established in 2001: Portugal. (2011) ‘Drug Policy in Portugal: The Benefits of Decriminalizing Drug Use’, Open Society Foundations Global Drug Policy Program, p. 30. Many Americans may not be aware of Portugal and its foray into becoming a global leader in drug policy innovation. Portugal has supported drug decriminalization for more than a decade. By any metric, Portugal’s drug‐ decriminalization scheme has been a resounding success. In 2001 the use of all drugs was decriminalised meaning possession of drugs was now identified as a public health issue rather than a criminal offence. Drug Decriminalization in Portugal: A Health-Centered Approach February 2015 Portugal enacted one of the most extensive drug law reforms in the world when it decriminalized low-level possession and use of all illicit drugs nearly a decade and a half ago. When Portugal decriminalized all illegal drugs in 2000, officials hoped to reduce addiction rates and drug-related violence. People stop living in fear of law enforcement and low and behold they become more open to the services that can help them and the rest of the community to be healthier and less at risk. Credit: Carlyn Zwarenstein. By 2001, Portugal decriminalized the use of all drugs and transformed Portuguese society. But particularly noteworthy from a drug policy perspective, Moore highlights Portugal’s policy of all-drug decriminalization and also features Norway’s humane and effective rehabilitative-focused prisons. Before long, drug use of all kinds was rampant in this small European nation. I met with Nuno and others who work with providing services to drug users when I visited Portugal last summer. Those in the harm reduction world know Portugal as a harm reduction Mecca: renowned for its 2001 legislation that decriminalized possession of small amounts of substances—including “hard” drugs like heroin and cocaine—and prioritized the health and human rights of people who use drugs over punishing them for it. He shows us how Finland’s schools became the best in the world by, among other things, eliminating homework (something that I am sure would interest every child in America). © Copyright 2020 Drug Policy Alliance. Greenwald, p. 14. 1 That does not, however, mean that drug use is legal. Results of the DPA has just released the above video to tell part of the story. Many Americans may not be aware of Portugal and its foray into becoming a global leader in drug policy innovation. Moore also interviews Nuno Capaz, who serves on the health commission in Portugal and is responsible for helping to administer the decriminalization policy. Our roving ambassador hears from the volunteers of mobile units that does not wait for patients to come to them and hears emotional recovery stories from former users. Compared to the European Union and the U.S., Portugal's drug use numbers are impressive. W elcome to The Undark Podcast, which will deliver — once a month from September to May — a feature-length exploration of a single topic at the intersection of science and society. It all seems overwhelmingly effective and no-brainer. The story of decriminalization in Portugal has become a kind of screen onto which drug policy agendas are projected.2 It has been misapplied as a precedent that can speak to questions of legalization and misconstrued as a more radical policy change than it in fact was. At one point in the 1990s, a staggering 1% of the population was addicted to heroin. 17-20. In July 2001, Portugal decriminalized the personal use and possession of all illicit drugs. Kudos to Michael Moore for showing what’s possible when we shift the focus from punishing people to finding ways to helping them become the best people they can be. “The national policy is to treat each individual differently. How Portugal Did It. Portugal’s drug policy exceed the existing scientific basis” (2010). I got a similar reaction when I peppered Nuno with questions searching for the point in the process where the drug user ends up getting arrested. My Perfect Country traces the development of the policy over the last 15 years and asks whether other countries should use this model for their own legislation on drug control. The hundredth relapse?” The answer was always “no.” Barring any harm to others, a person suffering from a chronic and recurring health concern around drug use gets treatment for their health instead of punishment. Following passage of Law 30/2000, Portugal refers cases of consumption, purchase, or possession of up to a 10 days' supply of an illicit drug to an administrative panel, which makes recommendations for treatment, fines, warnings, or other penalties. The Road to Decriminalization The drug policy of Portugal, informally called the "drug strategy", was put in place in 2000, and came into effect in July 2001. But particularly noteworthy from a drug policy perspective, Moore highlights Portugal’s policy of all-drug decriminalization and also features Norway’s humane and effective rehabilitative-focused prisons. We have an improvement in all the available indicators, but in my view, it’s the result of the complete strategy,” says Dr. João Goulão, Portugal’s national drug coordinator and the chief architect of their drug decriminalization policy. Stevens, A. In Moore’s film, he interviews three Portuguese cops who talk about how concern for “human dignity” is the most important part of their training, which for Americans is a remarkable thing to hear from law enforcement. Drug related deaths, HIV infection rates and use of legal highs are at an all-time low. Get tips for covering the war on drugs and download DPA staff photos, logos, marijuana stock photos and b-roll video. Open-air drug use site in Porto, Portugal. The second relapse? Greenwald, p. 12. Is the key to drug control decriminalisation? Join us. Portugal.1 By way of comparison, Sweden (with approximately the same pop-ulation as Portugal), estimated in 1998 a number of 26,000 “heavy users”, of which close to half had used heroin in the last year.2 The results shown by Portugal in the first few years after decriminalisation were impressive. Two decades ago, Portugal was in the grip of a nation-wide drug epidemic. In March 2018, the US-based advocacy organization Drug Policy Alliance led a large delegation to Portugal to learn more about the impacts of decriminalization of drug use on health outcomes and society. Overdoses were rampant, and drug … Drug Policy Alliance is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit registered in the US under EIN: 52-1516692. In Portugal, for instance, virtually all drug use was decriminalized in 2001. Should society move towards a more liberal drugs policy? By 1990, 1% of the population of Portugal was addicted to heroin – nearly 100,000 people in a country of 10 million. Moore visits blissed out Italians who enjoy enviable state-sanctioned vacation time and even an extra month of salary at the end of the year to enjoy it. The people whose home is the seashore and how they're tackling environmental challenges, With ideas too big for a single episode, The Compass presents mini-series about society, My Perfect Country: Green Energy in Costa Rica, My Perfect Country: Preventing Suicide in Michigan, USA. Sale and manufacturing of certain drugs still remains illegal and the police are in charge of enforcing those laws. The Portuguese and Norwegians seemed more than willing to let us “invade” their borders to steal a few smart ideas to take back home. Its purpose was to reduce the number of Fi Glover, Henrietta Moore and two panellists inspect Portugal’s policy which sees drug users as patients rather than criminals. Nearly fifteen years ago, in response to a growing opiate misuse public health crisis, the government of Portugal shifted their entire approach to drug use away from arrest and punishment and towards public health. But most fail to understand that drugs remain illegal. Drug crusaders cannot accept the fact that they're not god, that they have neither the right nor the competence to run other peoples' lives for them The secret is for us to be present,” Portugal’s drug czar, João Goulão, told Susana Ferreira, a writer for The Guardian . What’s perhaps most remarkable about listening to Nuno detail how the system works is how much it sounds not so much political as it is a simple practice based on common sense. safe to say that claims by drug legalization advocates regarding the impact of Portugal’s drug policy exceed the existing scientific basis. The big ideas on how to build a perfect country. Michael Moore's New Film Features Portugal's Groundbreaking Policy of Not Arresting People for Drug Use, Drug Policy Alliance & The Leadership Conference Lead Coalition of 150+ Organizations Calling on Congress to End Military Equipment Transfers to Local Law Enforcement, Biden-Harris Administration Doubles Down on the Drug War as Senate Follows House in Extending Trump’s Class-Wide Fentanyl Ban, Statement on HHS’ New Guidelines Removing Barriers from Medical Practitioners to Prescribe Life-Saving Medication for Opioid Use Disorder, Synthetic Cathinones (Bath Salts, Flakka), International Drug Policy Reform Conference, Uprooting the Drug War Discussion Series: Child Welfare, the Drug War, and Family Separation, DPA Podcast Episode 42: Movement for Family Power’s Lisa Sangoi on the Drug War and the Family Regulation System, Together, we are fighting for responsible drug policy. Filmmaker Michael Moore never shies from taking on tough issues and challenging the status quo. Portuguese police are encouraged to treat drug users as human beings. I'm looking for a documentary about drugs being decriminalization in portugal and the effect on this. His latest film “Where to Invade Next” is a clever spoof of U.S. foreign policy that encourages our military leaders to “invade” other countries and import their policies that can improve our quality of life. I don't know if this even exists, but it was mentioned in the google debate on drugs that happened a while ago. Drug Decriminalization in History In Portugal, drugs are still illegal, but any user carrying less than 10 days’ worth of illicit substances will simply have their supply confiscated. "It has enabled the Portuguese government to manage and control the drug problem far better than virtually every other Western country does." Drug Policy in Portugal is a lucid, penetrating and timely study about the impact of drug decriminalization on people’s health and public security. shows a reduction in the number and proportion of prisoners who were sentenced for drug offences following the decriminalization. Domosławski, A. I met with political leaders, health professionals, social workers, researchers and experts on And Moore makes our mouths water over the healthy and thoughtfully prepared school lunches that kids get in French public schools. The effects of decriminalization in Portugal are examined both in absolute terms and in comparisons with other states that continue to criminalize drugs, … The resources to handle these cases have all been diverted from the criminal justice system, in favor of the department of health, and everyone is encouraged and supported to be as healthy as they can be, even if they are not “drug-free.”. All Rights Reserved. Sign up to receive our monthly newsletter to get an inside look at DPA and the world of drug policy reform. Technology offers many potential futures, but how can those be beneficial for everyone? After decriminalization, the number of people in Portugal receiving drug addiction treatment rose, according to a study by Hannah Laqueur, an … This is perhaps why Nuno’s shrugging response to any suggestion of controversy or moral dilemma that Michael Moore offers about Portugal’s drug policies comes across as fairly comical in the film. Decriminalization is not the same as legalization. What they have discovered since they made this effort is that not only do addiction rates to the once illegal drugs go down, but so do the substance abuse rates. Daphne Bramham: Decriminalization is no silver bullet, says Portugal's drug czar Most outsiders know Portugal has decriminalized drugs. Watching Moore’s film may be the first time many Americans get a bird’s eye view of Portugal’s groundbreaking approach to drug policy. A 2015 study found that since Portugal approved the new national strategy in 1999 that led to decriminalization, the per capita social cost of drug misuse decreased by 18%. The dire situation led the country's leaders to a radical solution: the decriminalization of all drugs … Portugal was once Europe's worst country for drug misery and deaths. : 10%. The distribution and sale of controlled substances is still a criminal offense in Portugal, but possession and use of drugs are handled as a public health problem and not criminal activity. This proportion declined to 28% in 2005, from a peak of 44% in 1999. Is the key to drug control decriminalisation? Story with a system that 's been copied by its European neighbours and deaths, “ drug in! ( 2010 ) long, drug use was decriminalized in 2001 who work with providing services to drug users i. 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