Portugal, a country that has been praised by proponents of drug legalization for its decision to decriminalize all hard drugs, is now facing increasing doubts from within its borders regarding the effectiveness of this approach. According to a recent article from The Washington Post titled “Once hailed for decriminalizing drugs, Portugal is now having doubts,” the number of people using drugs and experiencing overdoses has significantly increased in recent years. Some individuals within the country believe that the rise in crime can be attributed to the prevalent drug use.
The report highlights that drug problems in urban areas are currently more severe than they have been in decades. Furthermore, government entities responsible for running rehabilitation programs and underfunded “dissuasion commissions” appear to be more focused on supporting drug use as a “human right” rather than providing effective treatment.
Rui Moreira, the mayor of Porto, Portugal, expressed his concerns by stating, “These days in Portugal, it is forbidden to smoke tobacco outside a school or a hospital. It is forbidden to advertise ice cream and sugar candies. And yet, it is allowed for people to be there, injecting drugs. We’ve normalized it.”
Recent statistics show that the percentage of people using drugs in Portugal increased from 7.8% to 12.8% in 2022, and overdoses have reached a 12-year high. In the capital city of Lisbon, overdose rates have doubled since 2019. In Porto, the presence of drug-related paraphernalia on the streets has risen by 24% from 2021 to 2022, while crime has spiked by 14%, which law enforcement officials attribute to rampant drug use.
Leitão da Silva, chief of the Municipal Police of Porto, explains, “At the end of the day, the police have their hands tied.” He acknowledges that the current drug abuse situation is similar to what it was prior to drug decriminalization. Arresting drug dealers, although possible in Portugal, rarely results in any significant punishment.
Keith Humphreys, a former senior drug policy adviser in the Obama administration and a professor at Stanford University, affirms that Portugal, along with places like Portland, Oregon, has reached a point of equilibrium. Many police officers and politicians believe that cracking down on drugs won’t yield any meaningful outcomes. Humphreys states, “When you first back off enforcement, there are not many people walking over the line that you’ve removed. And the public think it’s working really well. Then word gets out that there’s an open market, limits to penalties, and you start drawing in more drug users. Then you’ve got a more stable drug culture, and, frankly, it doesn’t look as good anymore.”
Drug policy expert Paul Larkin, a senior legal research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, acknowledges that it is not surprising to see some individuals in Portugal reevaluating the drug legalization approach. Larkin emphasizes that criminalizing an activity doesn’t automatically eradicate it, just as decriminalizing an activity won’t automatically eliminate associated harms. He points to other locations, including Portland, Oregon, where a majority of residents now regret decriminalizing drugs, as evidence that decriminalization is unsuccessful. Larkin believes that the vast majority of the population, around 80-90%, does not want to acquiesce to the roughly 10% of the population that regularly uses drugs.
In conclusion, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the decriminalization of drugs in Portugal may not have yielded the desired results. The country is grappling with a surge in drug use, overdoses, and related crime. This article raises important concerns that warrant a comprehensive review of Portugal’s drug policy.
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