In Portugal, drugs are decriminalized – but now?

For 21 years, drugs have been decriminalized in Portugal.

Since then, drug-related deaths have dropped, fewer people have been sent to prison, and more people have received help.

But on the inside, many believe that the country has been paralyzed by the successes.

– Decriminalization of drugs is not enough, says psychologist Adriana Curado, who works to help drug addicts in Lisbon.

In 2001, Portugal became the first country in the world to decriminalize all drugs.

In the past, drug users were classified as criminals. A small possession or self-consumption of illegal drugs carried prison terms on the penalty scale, just like that still in Sweden.

But since 21 years ago, the Portuguese model is different: They focus on helping instead of punishing.

Facts

Decriminalized – not legalized

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The radical decision was rooted in a heroin epidemic that swept the country.

Lisbon was known as the “Heroin Capital” and in the 1990s it was estimated that one in 100 Portuguese were addicted to heroin.

– We could be ten people sharing a syringe, says João Santa Maria, who previously abused mainly heroin and cocaine.

– The syringes were not thrown away, but we put them in boiling water to clean them. People had no information about HIV or other consequences.

For several years now, has left the use of heavy substances behind. Now he works instead as a support person at GAT (Grupo de Ativistas em Tratamentos), a help center in the capital Lisbon that offers a range of different help measures for people who use drugs.

The center is located in the city’s older district. It is visited daily by between 50 to 100 people who use various drugs on a regular basis.

Taking heroin under supervision

In the foyer, the noise level is high. Portuguese is spoken excitedly and at least three dogs are barking at the same time.

On the sheltered outdoor terrace right next door, it’s a different atmosphere, to say the least. Here a man sits in a corner and quietly prepares his heroin. Later he goes into a room with glass walls to get his “fix” under the supervision of a nurse.

Here, he and everyone else who visits the center gets access to, among other things, clean needles and the nasal spray Nyxoid, which can urgently counteract possible opioid overdoses.

Nor is it only daily users of heavy substances who can get help from centers like GAT. For example, they offer free drug testing.

In other words, ordinary citizens who intend to take drugs recreationally at a festival or the like can come there with, for example, cocaine or MDMA to test the substance.

– Sometimes we test what is supposed to be cocaine here, and then it is not cocaine at all, says João Santa Maria.

The aim is to make it safer for those who want to use drugs.

“The model is frozen”

Decriminalization itself was only part of the change. At the same time, resources were invested in several helping agencies in the country.

Adriana Curadopsychologist and community research officer at GAT, has seen improvements in many areas over the years as a result of Portugal’s changed approach.

Fewer drug users are sentenced to prison, HIV infections and drug-related deaths have dropped drastically, police resources have been freed up, there is more and better help available and the stigmatization of drug users has decreased.

However, she believes, the work is not finished.

– What has happened is we have now been paralyzed by the success of the Portuguese model, which has received a lot of attention internationally. But on the inside I think, and many with me, that the model is frozen. We have to move forward in many different aspects.

What do you want to happen?

– Decriminalization of drugs is not enough. People don’t stop using drugs just because they are banned and the prohibition of drugs is a big, big failure. We still have the black market, of course. There is no safe way for people to obtain drugs and it has many negative effects on ordinary people.

– What we need are discussions at both national and international level. My opinion is that we should implement a legalization and regulation of certain drugs, probably first with cannabis and then maybe with other substances as well. It is complex but if you start somewhere you can gain experience from it and then move on.

Facts

Deaths in numbers: Sweden and Portugal

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Lacks a serious evaluation

Another aspect that Adriana Curado often thinks about is how drug users are seen.

Previously, they were classified as criminals. Nowadays, they are seen as sick, according to the Portuguese model.

– But handling them as sick is not a good thing either. We should treat people like people. The vast majority of people who use drugs are not sick at all. There is no logic in it.

– If we look at the stigma, seeing them as sick has improved, because we have been able to expand our help services. But now it is no longer primarily about public health but about human rights.

Although Curado agrees that improvement has taken place in several areas, she is concerned about a lack of follow-up and evaluation of Portugal’s system.

– There are some reports that fewer drug users are in prison, for example. But actually we don’t know the exact numbers. The follow up has been lacking and frankly I would have liked to see a real, serious investigation.

Isn’t it strange that you, as the first nation to decriminalize all drugs, have not properly followed up on how things have gone?

– It is difficult to explain, but generally political reforms in Portugal are not evaluated. And this is no exception. Sure there is some research, some of which is not even Portuguese, but it is only for certain aspects. Overall, it is underreported.

“The police don’t care”

The general view is that the feared increase in drug use after decriminalization did not materialize. Very few advocate a return.

However, it has led to a relaxed attitude among young users in particular. In recent years, voices have also been raised to eliminate drug use in public places, including through camera surveillance.

Because in other places in Lisbon, such as the popular party street Bairro Alto, the smell of cannabis can be felt on almost every street corner. And those who walk along its pub-filled streets in the evenings will be repeatedly asked by street vendors if they want to buy drugs.

– It is very easy to get hold of drugs in Portugal. People don’t care. The police more or less don’t care either, says a man in his 30s, who wants to remain anonymous, to Aftonbladet.