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In Portugal, trucks cruise the streets and freely dispense methadone to all those trying to get clear of drugs

The Portuguese plan focused on specific high-risk groups such as prostitutes, young unemployed, and specific immigrant ethnic groups. Decriminalization also removed the fear of incarceration from those who might otherwise seek help in combating their addiction. Naturally, Portugal has spared itself the vast expense of the law enforcement process the United States shoulders in the implementation of its drug policy, and Portugal only spends about $10 per citizen per year on its entire drug program. The entire anti-drug effort is made easier by the fact that Portugal is a country with tight gun control, which is frequently a complicating factor in the United Sates where everyone who wants a firearm can easily lay hands on one. Portugal is, it need hardly be emphasized, a much smaller and less complicated country than the United States, but the fact that drug use in its population has declined by 75 per cent in 15 years is very impressive.

Canada has, with other drugs than marijuana, taken a path much closer to the Americans, and the former Harper government stiffened penalties for all drug offenses. Portugal has not taken the logical next step of shouldering out the dealers and taking over controlled distribution of drugs itself. This is the path that Canada and the American states of Colorado and Oregon have embarked upon with marijuana.

The Canadian motive seems to have been philosophical, where the American states seem to be chiefly concerned with thirst for revenue. In a similar evolution, western governments have, as their desire to buy popularity with more extensive services has combined with political fear of general tax increases, moved from discouragement of alcoholic beverages and gambling, to feeding their own addiction to tax and spend by extracting greater revenue from those sources. This is the strongest possible motive for greater indulgence of drugs, but the Portuguese experiment shows that it is good policy on its own merits. As it prepares the rules for marijuana sales and use, the federal government should examine the Portuguese model, as well as the disastrous drug war in the U.S.

A final note: the Portuguese program was designed by Antonio Guterres, now secretary-general of the United Nations. He will find chronic addiction to bad habits there too.

National Post

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