What’s The Point? –

May 1, 2019 – After a massive rise in heroin use in the 1990s affected all social classes and quickly became a major public health crisis, Portugal made a bold move: It would no longer criminalize people who possessed what they considered a 10-day supply of drugs. Drug dealers are still sent to jail, but anyone caught with a small amount is fined between 25 and 150 euros, and issued a summons to appear in front of a commission. That group includes a lawyer, psychiatrist, and social worker, to help the person who uses drugs access treatment and support. Quite simply, they’ve flipped the issue of drug use from a criminal issue to a health one. Which begs the question, Why hasn’t anyone else followed?

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