This policy includes several methods to contain the spread of HIV, including harm reduction efforts, informing the public and especially the most vulnerable populations about the spread of HIV, setting up treatment centres and facilitating access to substitution treatment for drug users, and setting up so-called deterrent commissions to persuade drug users to seek treatment. and all drug treatment and control units have been reorganized into one comprehensive unit. In addition, the current practice of exempting addicts from drug possession has been codified in a new law. The Act (Law 30/2000 on Drugs) maintained the status of illegality for the use or possession of drugs for personal use without authorization. However, for people addicted to this drug, his case was now considered a crime. [1] The power to impose penalties or sanctions in these cases was transferred from the police and the judiciary to so-called deterrent commissions if the quantity possessed did not exceed ten days of supply of this substance. [2] [1] Quintas J. Regulação legal do consumo de drogas: impactos da experiência portuguesa da descriminalização. Porto: Fronteira do Caos; 2011. If you transfer the legal quantity of a particular drug, you could be prosecuted.
The legal amount varies depending on the drug. For cocaine, it is legal to transport up to 2 grams, and for hashish, it is legal to transport up to 5 grams in Portugal. You can also carry up to 20 grams of cannabis flower. Evidence shows that these sites can save lives, reduce drug-related public disorders and lead to a decrease in behaviour related to HIV and hepatitis C transmission. But in the U.S., they remain controversial — though several major cities, including Seattle, San Francisco and Philadelphia, are considering opening supervised injection sites. Legal uncertainty is part of the problem: the federal government opposes the opening of such facilities, and state and local lawmakers have clashed over it. Some municipalities have also raised concerns about the impact on their neighbourhoods. According to NPR, while efforts are underway in at least 13 cities and states, all officially monitored injection sites are still pending. Portugal still has a long way to go, and some people continue to use drugs in appalling conditions. But, says Fonseca, “what America and other countries can learn from Portugal is to treat people with more dignity.” Portugal has shown that governments can give addicts the tools they need to get their lives back on track without spending large sums of money. But to do so, he must stop treating them like criminals. In 2000, and contrary to drug use, Law No.
30/2000 legally established drug trafficking (production, production and trafficking of illicit drugs) by Legislative Decree No. 15/93, which criminalizes “trafficking and other illegal activities” (Article 21°), “less serious trafficking” (Article 25°); and the “distributor/user” (Article 26°). The latter category refers to situations where the person`s ultimate goal is to obtain substances for personal use that do not exceed the amounts for an average use of up to five days. Footnote 8 Despite enthusiastic international reactions to Portugal`s success, local harm reduction advocates are frustrated by what they see as stagnation and inaction since decriminalization came into effect. They criticize the state`s delay in setting up supervised injection sites and drug consumption centres; for failing to make the overdose drug naloxone more readily available; for the non-implementation of needle exchange programmes in prisons. Where are the brave minds and leadership that led the country to decriminalize drugs in the first place? To this end, the following documents were analysed: (1) the three main texts of the United Nations drug conventions (1961, 1971, 1988), which constitute the international legal instruments on drugs; (2) key local drug laws; and (3) data collected by the Directorate-General for Drug Addiction and Drug Addiction (SICAD) on the drug use situation in Portugal. Three deadlines are particularly relevant: (1) between 1970 and 2000, when the production of local laws was often imbued with an ambivalence between punishment and support for drug addicts; (2) between 2000 and 2008, when drug-related crime disappeared from the Portuguese legal landscape; 3) since 2008, when the crime of drug use was punished by Supreme Court Decision No. 8/2008 for cases where the amounts determined exceed those established. Caso was supported by Apdes, a development NGO focused on harm reduction and empowerment, including programs for recreational users.
Their award-winning project Check!n has been campaigning for years at festivals, bars and parties to test for hazardous substances. I have been told more than once that if drugs were legalized and not just decriminalized, these substances would be subject to the same high standards of quality and safety as food, beverages and medicines. João is an activist for the legalization of marijuana, open to being HIV-positive, and after being away for part of his son`s youth, he loves his new role as a grandfather. He had stopped making speedballs (mixtures of cocaine and opiates) after several painful and unsuccessful treatment attempts, one of which was more destructive than the last. He used cannabis as a form of therapy for a long time – methadone didn`t work for him, nor did the hospital treatment programs he tried – but the cruel hypocrisy of decriminalization meant that while smoking weed wasn`t a crime, buying it was. His last and worst relapse came when he tried to buy marijuana from his regular dealer and was told, “I don`t have that right now, but I have good cocaine.” João said no and left, but soon found himself on his way to an ATM and back to the dealership.