History
What was the first country to decriminalize drugs?
Portugal (Hughes and Stevens, 2010).
Decriminalization of drugs is the key to fix all problems with addiction
What is Fiction (Braham, 2018)
Moving away a punishment based model and focusing on accessible treatment and recovery services for those with addictions.
Portugal believed decriminalization of drugs would help eliminate this, in order for people with addictions to feel more comfortable to access treatment.
What is Stigma (Laqueur, 2015).
What is the difference between drug legalization and drug decriminalization?
Drug Legalization = the complete removal of sanctions, making certain drugs legal and applying no criminal or administrative penalty (Hughes and Stevens, 2010).
Drug Decriminalization = the removal of sanctions under the criminal law with optional use of administrative sanctions (Hughes and Stevens, 2010).
Decriminalization of drugs means that drug dealing is legal.
What is fiction (Braham, 2018)
Decriminalization of drugs is this type of recovery model.
What is Harm Reduction? (Bajekal, 2018)
What is drug depenalization?
Drug use and possession are still illegal, but infractions are to be treated in a noncriminal manner rather than going through the justice system (Felix and Portugal, 2017).
Portugal enlisted a structure in which any person found using, or with drugs within the personal use limit is mandated to appear in front of this.
What is the Commissions for Dissuasion of Drug Addiction (CDTs) (Laquer, 2015).
Rates of drug use decrease when drug users face harsher punishment.
Fiction (Hughes and Stevens, 2010).
What are the secondary health effects of decriminalization of drugs model?
Decreased transmission of HIV and Hepatitis C (Bajekal, 2018)
In what year did Portugal decriminalize drugs?
2001 (Felix and Portugal, 2010).
Only 3 out of 195 countries in the world have decriminalized drugs.
Fact (Doll, 2019).
Decriminalization of drugs emphasizes looking at addictions not as a crime but as this.
What is a health problem (Bajekal, 2018)
What has been the primary impact of decriminalizing drugs?
The burden and cost in the criminal justice system (Hughes and Stevens, 2010).