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Once hailed for decriminalizing drugs, Portugal is now having doubts

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Once hailed for decriminalizing drugs, Portugal is now having doubts

#31

Post by bykhun »

jasonhansel wrote: post #18
EA-3167 wrote: post #4

I love it, the entire argument of this article boils down to, "A problem with visibility" rather than any failure of the policy. As though an existing problem being visible isn't societal pressure to better address the problem. Oh they also present statistics contained to the 2019-2023 period as though that wasn't pandemic-driven.

The issue is that making a behavior more visible tends to normalize it.

I wouldn't say it's a "learn by example". If anything, it makes me doesn't want to try heroine

It's like if we presented corpses of dead drivers on the main streets – I bet it'd greatly lower overspeeding and drunk driving

Re: Once hailed for decriminalizing drugs, Portugal is now having doubts

#32

Post by JimtheCoder »

KerrAvon wrote: post #21
mandelbrotwurst wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> solve poverty How?

give people money so they can buy food, clothing, and shelter. there are solutions that have worked in the past. the problem is the US center-right doesn't like them because they can be abused, and it's far worse for one person in a million to have something given to them that they don't deserve than for a million people to be helped.

"the problem is the US center-right doesn't like them because they can be abused"

What does the US center-right have to do with Portugal?

Re: Once hailed for decriminalizing drugs, Portugal is now having doubts

#33

Post by palata »

mandelbrotwurst wrote: post #9
gumballindie wrote: post #6

Loads of proposals, all missing the obvious: solve poverty. Portugal and south Europe in general suffer greatly from it. Stats make the region look good on paper but reality is very different.

> solve poverty How?

Maybe a first step would be to prevent the ultra rich to get even richer.

Re: Once hailed for decriminalizing drugs, Portugal is now having doubts

#36

Post by JimtheCoder »

bykhun wrote: post #35
mensetmanusman wrote: post #17

Has any advanced civilization been gung-ho about legalized drugs? There are probably strong socioevolutionary reasons why this is the case.

Canada is pretty much fine with drugs, as well as California

Spotted the Non-Canadian...

Re: Once hailed for decriminalizing drugs, Portugal is now having doubts

#37

Post by zoky »

gumballindie wrote: post #6

Loads of proposals, all missing the obvious: solve poverty. Portugal and south Europe in general suffer greatly from it. Stats make the region look good on paper but reality is very different.

The link between drug use and poverty is far from clear. While there is a correlation between drug addiction and poverty, there has not been a causal relationship shown between the two. In many cases, poverty may be a result of drug addiction rather than a cause. Consider the much talked about opioid epidemic, for example. The people getting these prescriptions tend towards middle rather than lower class. When the pill supply runs out, either because they can’t afford them anymore or can’t find a doctor to prescribe them, they turn to much cheaper and readily available street drugs like heroin, and at that point they’re more or less locked into a downward spiral into poverty.

All of this is to say that if we were to somehow “solve poverty” (even putting aside the vast oversimplification made by such a statement), while it might reduce rates of drug addiction, it by no means would be an overall solution to the problem. Addiction respects no socioeconomic boundaries.

Re: Once hailed for decriminalizing drugs, Portugal is now having doubts

#39

Post by outworlder »

gumballindie wrote: post #6

Loads of proposals, all missing the obvious: solve poverty. Portugal and south Europe in general suffer greatly from it. Stats make the region look good on paper but reality is very different.

Note that Portugal has a pretty extensive safety net. Be it housing, unemployment, health care, and social assistance in general.

The country has been suffering from wage stagnation, unemployment and an aging population and that's definitely reflected in stats.

Re: Once hailed for decriminalizing drugs, Portugal is now having doubts

#40

Post by triceratops »

mensetmanusman wrote: post #17

Has any advanced civilization been gung-ho about legalized drugs? There are probably strong socioevolutionary reasons why this is the case.

Other than religious proscriptions against alcohol, I can't think of any civilization in history that has outright banned any drugs. Were the Romans, Egyptians or Persians especially anti-drug? Any of the ancient Indian or Chinese kingdoms and empires?

On the other hand, cannabis has a long tradition of use in ancient India[1].

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_in_India

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