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What happened when Portugal decriminalised drugs in 2001?This

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SubliminallyOveranalyzed:
hxxps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMh6zhBwX58

hxxps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7LKfLxVtzE&spfreload=10

*In the decade and a half since Portugal completely decriminalized drugs, drug use rates have slightly decreased.
(as reported by the CATO institute > hxxp://www.cato.org/ )

*Significant reductions in STD's, overdoses, and rates of HIV/AIDS

Many feared that the country would become dependent on drug tourism.......that did not happen.

In July of 2001, Portugal officially decriminalized all drugs. The Punishment for being caught with anything from heroin to methamphetamine to marijuana, became mandatory rehabilitation, or at worse, a small fine, no jail time. It has not changed
since then, and will not change, because it ACTUALLY WORKS. It's called harm reduction. Unlike outlawing drugs, and punishments like incarceration, this approach is actually producing the results that government's claim will be achieved through outlawing and punishment, but never happen. A decade and a half of factual evidence should be proof enough for even the most closed-minded drug basher, one would think.

The reality is that addiction is, always has been, and always will be a health issue, NOT a legal one.  Even Portugal's political leaders and law enforcement, openly admit that there is literally NO winning or victory to be had in making drugs and addiction a legal issue, in terms of outlawing and punishment.  And they are actually qualified to make such statements, because they are speaking from over 15 consecutive years of hands on, in the field, on the job experience. Not to mention that the reasons they decriminalized drugs to begin with, are actually changing for the better(STD's, over-dose's, overall drug use rates, HIV/AIDS rates : all were consistently going up each year that that they had their drug war like the U.S. and other's have now.)

How much more than real-world, concrete, and irrefutable evidence will it take to illustrate that the only results to be had from a consistently counter-productive and complete failure of an approach that the outlawing and punishment of drugs is?

When does the reality of, and evidence of failed policies become not just acknowledged, but real change actually applied to a completely broken system?

 



 

Moolybdenum:
it's all fucked. laws of nature vs laws of man.....  good to know that Portugal is trying......

SubliminallyOveranalyzed:
Well, Mooly, be that as it may...... aware as we all are, of the bucket of piss future that awaits this self-limiting species, with our meaningless preoccupations with our ego's, wealth, and social status........

One does occasionally attempt to be the hopeful optimist as well!!   And one can tell by the second half of that statement that there is a flicker of optimism even in ol Mooly!

One has said it before.......if you scratch the surface of a cynic, underneath you may find a disappointed idealist.......

But despite your initial encouragement to instinctively gauge such things with one's sense of reality, Mooly,(not to mention one's natural inclination to do so instinctively, so generally no need for such encouragement, lol)........

........One has been attempting to allow hope and optimism to have equal prevalence as viewpoints these days, alongside of one's defaulted views of a cynical realist using inherent inevitability as a future projection factor; and of course, this species' timeless and blatant track record of consistently squandering the great gifts we were given, like using time, energy, resources, and generations after generations to create, instill, and standardize shit like the all limiting religious superstition, for narrow minded reasons like the all-time classic.... "one group trying to control another group"; or the equally popular pursuit of wealth and power.......... which may seem very different, but are essentially both mere classic examples of good old tunnel vision as a more efficient means to their respective and ultimately meaningless ends.

And for those of us that adhere to and embrace such things, such as religious superstition, and pursuit of wealth & power, who came along grandfathered in to these institutions, well past their pioneering days of implementation; we are just as squandering of those great gifts as the Scumbags that pioneered them......

.........Though in our defense, we do so much less intentionally and less maliciously, as many of us have not had adequate exposure to alternative options of believing or existing; and even many who have, have not received much or any subjective conditioning in the importance of, or practice of having an open mind in general,  to be able to even receive and/or process such things as viable alternatives of existence........(not to mention the fact that we had no fucking say either way for this shit being adopted as standard operating procedure in the first fucking place, and be the expected and passed on standard of truth most of us had as an example in our most formative years; add a healthy dose of ego driven, materialistic pursuits to that concoction, and you get close to a finished example of the ones that make the owner's of this country, for example......."Proud to be Scumericans.....Where at least One knows we're fucked....... And ' wouldn't give, a bucket of piss, for this country's future..........."

.....Nevertheless...... a futile and fruitless topic, much like attempting to introduce some unusually dedicated bible thumping patriots to the reality of their fascist government, and their go to book being simply a man-made modification, that retains none of it's original ancient and coded knowledge, not when its been twisted, edited, and rewritten to be taken completely out of it's original context, as it was altered in such ways in 397 a.d. at the canonization in Carthage, and done so for the sole purpose of merely accommodating the controlling entity's/actual sources' short-sided vision of lasting control.....

......or somewhat similar to attempting to introduce to those same individuals, the fact that their own consciousness, is actually the source of their existence, and that they, as well as any other consciousness in existence, all have equal access to, and control of the creative process that's so often credited as being solely with some imaginary man or entity in the sky or whatever, looking down on us, watching what we do, and has a list of ten things that he never wants us to do, and if we do any of those 10 things, and don't take proper redemptive steps there-after, he could send us to an eternal place of suffering, where we will burn for all eternity!(it's limiting!! that type of shit, it's very limiting to this brain we have and the potential there-in!! and the results speak for themselves!! )

but, look at the bright side, at least we have no one to blame but ourselves for the depth of this pile of shit we're lounging in.......

......so at least that solves the accountability part of the mystery....... of which they say.....is a big part of the process of learning from, and progressing from one's fuckups productively!!!....... but who knows......hell, one could be living in more of a fairy tale than one gives the bible thumping patriots credit for residing in........

so, once again, we are at an impasse ..........as you were people

SubliminallyOveranalyzed:
apologies people, one was on quite the rant the other day.....(the post right before this one)

honestly was not trying to impose one's views and/or beliefs on anyone, so please don't interpret it as such

( One meant every damn word of it though!!!  LoL)  ;)

SubliminallyOveranalyzed:
Updated Results of Portugal's Harm Reduction Approach......

~~
Levels of drug use are below the European average;

~~
Drug use has declined among those aged 15–24, the population most at risk of initiating drug use;

~~
Lifetime drug use among the general population has increased slightly, in line with trends in nearby countries
(however, lifetime use is widely considered to be the least accurate measure of a country’s current drug use situation);

~~
Rates of past-year and past-month drug use among the general population have decreased;

~~Rates of continuation of drug use have decreased; 

Source: hXXp://www.maps.org/bulletin-items/387-bulletin-spring-2015/5671-decriminalization-and-harm-reduction-in-portugal-an-interview-with-dr-jo%C3%A3o-goul%C3%A3o

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