RAEL’S COMMENT:
FREEDOM OVER POLICE STATE MENTALITY: “Decriminalization of all drugs for personal use: HIV infections and associated crimes have all dropped as a result.” This should be applied everywhere! Some governments really put the freedom, happiness, and wealth of their citizens before their thrill to use “dictatorial powers” adopting a police state mentality. Same for Sweden which against Covid didn’t impose any lockdown or mask-wearing and which hasn’t seen more deaths than in previous years with the normal flu…
In the ’90s, Portugal was in the grip of a drugs crisis.
The country had one of the worst rates of overdose deaths in Europe, as well as the highest rate of HIV among drug users.
In response to this public health emergency, Portugal’s government set up a group of experts including doctors, psychiatrists and judges to come up with a nationwide strategy.
The committee proposed a raft of radical measures including the decriminalisation of all drugs for personal use.
In 2001 the new law came into force and overdoses, HIV infections and associated crimes have all dropped as a result.
Dr João Goulão, one of the architects of the drugs policy, spoke to Witness History about the success of the strategy.
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