In the early 1990s, 100,000 people in Portugal had a heroin addiction. Now, owing to the decriminalization of drugs, that number is closer to 25,000
In the early 1990s, Portugal was in the midst of a heroin and HIV crisis. Approximately one per cent of their 10 million people had a heroin addiction, and the country held the highest rate of HIV infection in the European Union. By the late 1990s, half of the prison population was incarcerated on drug charges, mostly possession.
A 2015 study found that since Portugal approved this new national strategy, the per capita social cost of substance use decreased by 18 per cent. As is often the case, when a social issue relating to criminal law arises, many governments react with emergency or zero-tolerance policies, toughening the laws that focus on the issue. Portugal decided to enter the war on drugs; within a decade, it appeared that the drugs had won.
Instead of facing prison time and criminal records, users who are caught by police go before a local three-person commission for the dissuasion of drug addiction, a panel typically composed of a lawyer plus some combination of a physician, psychologist, social worker or other health-care professional with expertise in drug addiction.
Along with these legal changes, there was a new focus on prevention, education and harm reduction. They worked to improve treatment programs for drug dependent persons and helped at-risk groups and current drug users maintain or restore their connections to family, work, and society. Each of the psychologists and social workers at Ares do Pinhal are responsible for around 100 patients who might need help finding a place to live or a referral to a substance abuse treatment program.
That includes housing and social inclusion, but also, effective treatment options for those who ask. Faria said that is the most pronounced effect of the decriminalization: the willingness to ask for help without fear of consequences.
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