Ethics

Decriminalization Working in Portugal

By Ed Brayton

A new study by Glenn Greenwald (yes, the same Glenn Greenwald), sponsored by the Cato Institute, concludes that Portugal's decriminalization of drugs has been a big success and has led to none of the negative effects that opponents predicted. Here's how it works in Portugal:

On July 1, 2001, a nationwide law in Portugal took effect that decriminalized all drugs, including cocaine and heroin. Under the new legal framework, all drugs were "decriminalized," not "legalized." Thus, drug possession for personal use and drug usage itself are still legally prohibited, but violations of those prohibitions are deemed to be exclusively administrative violations and are removed completely from the criminal realm. Drug trafficking continues to be prosecuted as a criminal offense.

While other states in the European Union have developed various forms of de facto decriminalization -- whereby substances perceived to be less serious (such as cannabis) rarely lead to criminal prosecution -- Portugal remains the only EU member state with a law explicitly declaring drugs to be "decriminalized."

Full post as published by Dispatches from the Culture Wars on April 16, 2009 (boomark / email).