Should drugs be decriminalized?
A legal marijuana coffee shop in Amsterdam, Netherlands
The legalization of drugs has become an interesting debate for many people today whether they are left or right wingers. When the dutch decriminalized marijuana some people were skeptical and that it would instead create a problem that resulted that every body will be lazy and unmotivated. That wasn’t quite true. Data now shows that the the dutch have very similar rates of use between other European nations. Cannabis is technically still illegal, but the courts won’t prosecute small amounts.
Many other European countries such as Norway and Portugal have decriminalized using drugs and instead have implemented a mandate to go to rehab for addiction recovery instead of going to jail. Portugal has legalized all drugs since 2000. Now, their capital Libson, which had 5000 users a day lining up to buy Heroin in abandoned buildings, has been completely transformed due to the new policy of treating drug users as sick people instead of criminals. People are getting the help they need instead of sleeping in abandoned buildings and using dirty needles. There are less people in jail and on the street. The neighborhood has been bulldozed and has completely transformed, in only 10 years!
The United states spends about 1 trillion dollars a year on the “war on drugs” as more people die from drug related violence, and as our privately owned jails get filled up beyond capacity. Therefore, there is something the United States can learn from the Portuguese.