In Portugal, drug use rooms were introduced only two years ago. In Finland, a citizens’ initiative has been made to approve their use, which is being considered by the parliament.
Many countries have been feverishly thinking about what to do with the problems caused by drug use. Finland is also considering how to reduce drug-related deaths.
Among European countries, Finland has the highest number of drug-related deaths among people under the age of 25.
The discussion about drug policy constantly resurfaces. It was handed over to the parliament this summer citizen initiative about enabling supervised use rooms, and last month the initiative was discussed lively in the parliament.
Advocates of a different drug policy often seek a model for changes in drug policy from Portugal.
Portugal’s drug problems exploded in the late 1990s due to the use of heroin, at the same time HIV infections also grew rapidly. The country had to do something quickly.
In 2001, Portugal’s drug policy underwent a complete reversal, when the use and possession of all narcotics for personal use was decriminalized, i.e. their punishment was removed. Drug problems quickly started to decline.
People with drug problems were offered social and health services instead of prison. The intention was not to allow the use of drugs, even though the criminal record was waived.
Drug use has increased
However, the limits of Portugal’s vaunted social drug policy now seem to have been met. The country’s drug-related deaths have been increasing for a long time.
At the beginning of the 2010s, there were only a dozen drug-related deaths, but in 2020 there were already more than sixty deaths. However, Portugal’s figures are not so grim to look at at the moment compared to the time before the country’s drug policy reform.
Special expert on drugs at the Health and Welfare Institute (THL). Sanna Kailanto notes that the situation in Portugal has worsened in recent years.
– Drug use has increased throughout the 21st century. If the use of drugs becomes more common, the harm will also increase, Kailanto says.
“Very expensive”
According to Kailanto, the use of cannabis by minors is really common in Portugal. Young adults also use a lot of cannabis. So the Portuguese model has weaknesses.
Kailanto says that the Portuguese model has been criticized because it is suitable for people who already have a drug addiction. People who get hooked on drugs for the first time should be offered completely different treatment.
According to Kailanto, Portugal’s way of dealing with drug use is also really expensive. He suspects that with the weakening of the Portuguese economy, funding for services and support networks for problem drug users has decreased.
Director of the Portuguese Institute on Drug Abuse João Goulão confirms Kailanto’s suspicions when he admitted last Decemberthat the Portuguese model no longer works because there is not enough funding.
According to Kailanto, the model also has another significant problem: The personal limit for possession of narcotics is “quite high”.
– The limit on the possession of narcotics enables the sale and distribution of drugs, Kailanto says.
The sale and distribution of drugs are still crimes in Portugal punishable by imprisonment. The amount below the personal limit for possession of narcotics is therefore not punished and the amount exceeding the limit is punished.
However, selling drugs carries a prison sentence.
However, the model works for what it was originally created for: identifying drug addicts and directing them to help.
HIV deaths remained low
According to Kailanto, Portugal specifically wanted to reduce the problems caused by the use of heroin, such as HIV infections, and the model still works for this.
– For a long time, HIV deaths in Portugal have remained at the numbers they fell to when the law reform began to take effect, Kailanto says.
There are also fewer deaths caused by heroin than at the end of the 1990s.
How should drug use problems be solved?
Special drug expert Sanna Kailanto from THL says that every state should think about its drug policy based on the country’s problems and challenges.
– Decriminalization of narcotics alone [rangaistavuuden poistaminen] does not improve the situation of people addicted to drugs, but only works as part of a wider reform.
THL would prevent drug-related deaths in Finland in drug use rooms. According to Kailanno, the rooms have only been in use for two years in Portugal.
How did the story arouse your thoughts? Comment below and discuss! The discussion is open from October 26th until the 23rd.