Legal Fix – Portugal
Legal Fix – Portugal – Portugal’s maverick drug laws a credible global model? To see more go to www.youtube.com Follow us on Facebook (goo.gl or Twitter (www.twitter.com After suffering the highest instance of drug-related deaths in all Europe, Portugal took a brave decision and decriminalised all drugs. Ten years on, is it a success story for other nations to follow? On the streets of Lisbon drug users light up wherever they want. One police officer tells us the girl across the street is smoking crack. He complains, but few share his sentiment. “Considering drug users as criminals just because they are using drugs is not a very realistic approach”, a Portuguese drug addiction officer argues. He has just had an interview with a sixteen-year-old boy caught smoking hashish. No punishment was handed out, just advice. In Portugal it’s now seen as a health problem, rather than a criminal one. Brendan Hughes of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs says it is very difficult to analyse the success of the law. He points to one very interesting fact: “In 10 years of governments in Portugal, where they have changed from left to centre-right to left, back to centre-right, drugs have stayed off the agenda”. Due to the economic crisis, funding for the rehabilitation of drug offenders is going to be very seriously hit. For Dr Goulao, the public face of the law, it comes at the worst possible time. “I believe that more people will turn to drugs and alcohol.” A Film By SBS Distributed By Journeyman Pictures …
The highs and lows of marijuana use
Filed under: drug treatment news 2011
A 2011 study published in the journal Addiction found marijuana has little long-term effect on learning and memory, according to TIME.com. The study authors followed nearly 2,000 Australian adults, aged 20 to 24, for eight years. They concluded that …
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Former Rutland man sentenced on drug charges
Filed under: drug treatment news 2011
Turner's attorney Matthew Harnett said his client underwent outpatient drug treatment in 2011 and moved to Texas to be with his parents and “remove himself from the environment in which he tended to get into trouble.” “He lives with his girlfriend and …
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