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Discussion => Drug safety => Topic started by: Tokin' Minority on July 21, 2011, 12:19 am

Title: Portugal: When Heroin Was King
Post by: Tokin' Minority on July 21, 2011, 12:19 am
An interesting article on HuffPo about Portugal's approach to harm reduction.

CLEARNET LINK: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/danna-harman/when-heroin-was-king-ten-_b_897474.html

Portugal: When Heroin Was King


...

At the time Joao Goulao was a young family practice doctor in Algarve, who found himself with more and more patients with drug addiction problems, and a dilemma about reporting them to the police.

"It seemed everyone at the time had family or a friend with a drug habit. These were not 'outsiders,' but part of our communities. These were decent people with problems," he says.

Goulao soon joined a new government task force searching for a way forward. They traveled to other countries with innovative drug policies, studied theoretical models, consulted psychologists and lawyers and social workers. And they came up with a plan.

The plan, which soon became law, was based on changing the categorization of drug users, from criminals who needed to be punished -- into sick who needed help.

And, following this logic, Portugal proceeded to take the revolutionary step of decriminalizing all illicit drugs, from marijuana thru heroin -- becoming the first such country in the world to do so.

"What was unique was that, for the first time ever, there was a focus on the rights of drug users," says Caitlin Hughes, from the Australian National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, who has long studied Portugal's drug policies. "That, and a willingness to take a risk even if it was unclear that it would work."

This month, the country quietly marked the decade anniversary of those groundbreaking drug laws, and turned its attention to assessing what has, and has not been accomplished.

**

"To begin with, it's decriminalization, not legalization," says Goulao, now president of the Ministry of Health's Institute of Drugs and Drugs Addiction, or as he is widely known, Portugal's drug czar.

Drugs are and remain illegal in Portugal, he explains, sitting down in his sunny Lisbon office, taking out his drug of choice -- a cigarette -- and lighting up. This means, that, in theory at least, anyone using drugs, including tourists, can and will be picked up by police.

It is what happens next that is unique. Instead of being sent to a criminal court, offenders are given three days to present themselves before one of the Health Ministry's special panels, compromised of psychologists, doctors, social workers and judges.

The panel evaluates each case and makes recommendations. Anyone found with more then the quantity deemed "reasonable" for ten days of personal use (for example, one gram of heroine, 10 of opium, 25 of cannabis etc) is sent into the criminal justice system, where they can and are prosecuted and punished for trafficking.

Among the others, a differentiation is made -- between "addicts" and "casual users." Those deemed to be casual users get off with a warning or maybe a fine, usually between 50-60 euros, while "addicts," are directed to one of the country's 79 treatment centers where they can, if they want, get all forms of help, from counseling to methadone replacement treatment.

In 2008, the last year for which figures are available, more than 40,000 people went though these treatment programs. The bill is footed by the Ministry of Health to the tune of about €50 million a year, with an additional €20 million provided through a charity funded by Portugal's national lotteries.

**

According to Goulao, his teams, and the majority of Portugese, the use of treatment instead of punishment, coupled with harm reduction efforts, has been a clear success.

Proof? Hard core addiction has fallen by about half since the early 1990s -- with the number of heroin users in Portugal today hovering at about 55,000. The rate of HIV and hepatitis infection among drug users -- common health issues associated with needle-sharing -- has also fallen since the law's rollout.

Even decriminalization's strongest proponents do not go so far as to give the laws sole credit for the reduction of heroin users in the country, and freely admit the drop could also be attributed to the drug's declining popularity and the rising popularity of other drugs, like cocaine. But, there is little doubt it has been a contributing factor to the change.

Today, Casal Ventoso does not really even exist. In an effort to erase what was once such a sorry place, bulldozers have cut through the neighborhood, adding streets, closing others and pushing out the druggies. A whole block of new apartments went up. A long row of shacks was taken down, and the neighborhood, say old timers, is barely recognizable.

No, the addicts have not totally disappeared, but their numbers have clearly dwindled.

"Will you pay is if we talk to you?" ask two thin men with dreadlocks, rolling down the window to their parked car and peering out. On their laps are tin foil sheets, on which they are spreading a brown sticky paste. Soon, they will heat up the foil from beneath with a cigarette lighter and take in a "hit" of heroin.

"We don't care that other quit," they add, almost apologetic, cutting rather lonely figures on a street in which a baby carriage or two is pushed by, a hip cafe has opened, and many former addicts are working towards cleaning up their lives.

Back in his office, Goulao takes out his blackberry and scrolls down for a message he received that week. "Hello, I just saw you on TV and it made me think to write," he reads from the text out loud. "I am just back from a day at the beach with my brother who, bless you, is today fine, healthy and happy. Thank you. Thank you Portugal."

It's little things like the message, says Goulao -- a simple story about an ex-addict regaining hope and dignity, that make it all worthwhile for him.

...

[CLEARNET LINK: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/danna-harman/when-heroin-was-king-ten-_b_897474.html]
Title: Re: Portugal: When Heroin Was King
Post by: joeblow2 on July 22, 2011, 10:43 am
Wow.  So the way to win the "war on drugs" is just to give in and let nature take its course. 

In Portugal they started with 100,000 out of 10 million people addicted to heroin.  So 1% of the population.  Now it's half that.
I also read in another article that the number of deaths from overdose dropped from 1,400 to about 400; or by 2/3.

In the USA we have 900,000 heroin addicts out of 307 million or .3%.  But if we decriminalized it, that would mean almost HALF A MILLION people could be encouraged off heroin.  Sounds worthwhile! :)
Title: Re: Portugal: When Heroin Was King
Post by: phubaiblues on July 23, 2011, 05:00 am
Other countries in Europe do even better, IMO, for incorrigible heroin users.  Beginning with Switzerland, they just quit the whole charade, and prove Heroin Assisted Treatment, where you can just get on legal heroin and be done with it.  Switzerland, Germany, Denmark I believe, Amsterdam...there are others, I've lost track.  Canada has done it experimentally, (NAOMI) ... my concern with Portugal is that they are similar to the U.S. in the liberal sense of branding us 'sick' and as long as we 'get help' we get some slack...but if you continue to use drugs, eventually you get locked up anyway.  I'm sick of both of'em.  I don't want to be branded 'sick' or 'criminal'...just don't want governments to brand me anything at all.  Leave me alone is what I want...

The countries who provide 'HAT' just give you heroin, and find that crime goes down.  All kinds of caveats to what I just posted, but there are lots of changes in  some countries.  And most have restrictions to make sure people from less tolerant countries don't flock there and get on heroin.  I've tried,  I know.
Title: Re: Portugal: When Heroin Was King
Post by: Megatherium on August 03, 2011, 12:15 pm
Switzerland, Germany, Denmark I believe, Amsterdam...there are others, I've lost track.

Germany only had pilot projects which were majorly succesful but adopting it into general practice was stopped by the "What message will that send to children?" bullshit rhetoric.

Portugal in on the forefront of doing it right, but IMHO it's only the first step. People still jack up dirty shit that is potentially harmful to their bodies as opposed to pure heroin. The drug market is still uncontrolled meaning children can get their hands on drugs if they want and the profits still go to organized crime. I know it sounds like an extremist position, especially when talking to people, who have not thought about what prohibition has basically done to society, but the only way of truly solving the problem is fullout legalization and treating the drive to get high and the problems that arise from that like addiction as what it is: human.
Title: Re: Portugal: When Heroin Was King
Post by: Aphex on August 04, 2011, 02:03 am
my concern with Portugal is that they are similar to the U.S. in the liberal sense of branding us 'sick' and as long as we 'get help' we get some slack...but if you continue to use drugs, eventually you get locked up anyway.  I'm sick of both of'em.  I don't want to be branded 'sick' or 'criminal'...just don't want governments to brand me anything at all.  Leave me alone is what I want...

I just want to live my life in the way that makes me happy and doesn't harm others as long as no one else is harmed by my actions I fail to see the criminal aspect of what I am doing.