Portugal’s Approach to Drug Use

In 2001, the Portuguese government took up a new mode of managing drug use; they decriminalized it. By doing so, public and private drug use of all illegal drugs, if the amount possessed is not above the average consumed in ten days, is no longer a crime [1]. Instead, drug use is treated as an illness and a public health issue.

While the United States has drug courts, Portugal has the Commissions for the Dissuasion of Drug Addiction, which focuses on the psychosocial aspect of drug use and provides drug users with referrals to healthcare institutions [1]. When police send a user to the commission, the drug user is required to present themselves to the commission physically. There, a group of social workers assesses their drug use on a scale from casual to addiction and encourages them to seek necessary treatment [1]. The commission rarely fines offenders and instead chooses to intervene with counseling to prevent them from becoming addicted [2]. During the first year of its implementation, of the 6,000 users who were sent to the commission, 1,600 underwent treatment at the Prevention and Treatment of Drug Addiction Service, a public rehabilitation center in Portugal [3].

Portugal’s Commissions for the Dissuasion of Drug Addiction is a public health approach that treats drug addiction as the chronic illness it is [2]. The commission, more like a doctor than a court of law, is concerned with the health and well-being of the person, not isolating them from society [2]. While the decriminalization of drugs was initially marked with an increase in drug use in Portugal, the harm associated with the use of drugs has been reduced [2]. Programs for free distribution of clean needles, testing of drugs for purity and potency, and methadone treatment allow drug use to be less harmful [2]. Since decriminalization in 2001, the percentage of teenagers who reported using illicit drugs in Portugal decreased by half, indicating that decriminalization may be a successful method for drug use prevention [2].

Portugal’s drug policy has changed the way other nations approach drug use. In 2016, the Global Commission on Drug Policy encouraged nations to decriminalize the possession of drugs and opt for alternative consequences, such as counselling or community service [4]. Portugal’s approach to drug use is promoting much-needed conversations as to what the goals of drug policy are and how these goals can realistically be achieved.

Reviewed By: Gage Gruett

Designed By: Jennifer Liu

References

[1] Rêgo, X., Oliveira, M. J., Lameira, C., & Cruz, O. S. (2021). 20 years of Portuguese drug policy - developments, challenges and the quest for human rights. Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy, 16(1), 59. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13011-021-00394-7

[2] Kristof, N. (2017). War on Drugs: Portugal may be winning the battle against drug abuse through decriminalisation. Independent Digital News & Media.

[3] Miller, S. B. (2002, Aug 08). Portugal assesses its softer approach to drug users; A year ago Lisbon decriminalized drug use. Views differ on whether the policy is effective. The Christian Science Monitor. https://login.proxy.lib.duke.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/portugal-assesses-softer-approach-drug-users-year/docview/405679443/se-2

[4] Dreifuss, R., & Bém, P. (2016). Non-violent drug users should face no penalty—a call from the Global Commission on Drug Policy. BMJ, i5921. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i5921