In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, both the U.S. and Portugal struggled with widespread opioid addiction. While the U.S. enacted harsh criminal sanctions for drug offenders, Portugal approached the problem through a public health lens and, in 2001, decriminalized the possession of most illicit drugs. Portugal also enacted laws that increased the amount and availability of treatment across the country. Portugal’s decriminalization laws drastically reduced the number of drug related deaths per year and is widely viewed as a success. Conversely, the number of drug related deaths and people incarcerated for drug related offenses have both risen in the U.S. Volume XLVII staff editor Tamar Leff argues that the U.S. should move towards Portugal’s model of decriminalization and approach the opiate crisis as a public health crisis instead of a criminal justice one.
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