DECRIMINALIZATION - A BETTER APPROACH? DrugSense FOCUS Alert #412 - Sunday, 30 August 2009 Alan Bock in today's column discusses the impact of decriminalization of drugs in Mexico and Portugal. He then shows the United States failing in it's drug war efforts and concludes that decriminalization is not a complete solution. Glenn Greenwald's White Paper "Drug Decriminalization in Portugal: Lessons for Creating Fair and Successful Drug Policies" may be obtained from http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10080 Pubdate: Sun, 30 Aug 2009 Source: The Orange County Register Copyright: 2009 The Orange County Register Contact: Author: Alan Bock, Sr. editorial writer, The Orange County Register IN DRUG-RAVAGED MEXICO, A NEW APPROACH Mexico on Aug. 21 officially decriminalized possession and use of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs. Specifically, a police search that turns up a half-gram of cocaine (about four lines) five grams of marijuana (about four cigarettes), 50 milligrams of heroin, 40 milligrams of methamphetamines or 0.015 milligrams of LSD will not bring any jail time. This might seem counterintuitive, given that Mexico is in the throes of a real, live shooting (and torturing and decapitating) drug war that has seen the deaths of 12,000 people since 2006. If Mexico has been getting serious about trying to stop drug trafficking and disassemble the vicious cartels that supply drugs, why "send the message" that possession of small amounts of drugs is OK? Doesn't that undermine the larger anti-drugs effort? Aside from the fact that police and prosecutors in practice seldom send small-time drug users to jail, given the resources required to do so, there are reasons to hope, based on experience in other countries, the decriminalization just might reduce the prevalence of drug usage and help society get a better handle on drug addiction and related problems, such as deaths due to drug overdose and transmission of AIDS and other infectious diseases through dirty needles. Indeed, there is considerable evidence, though it falls short of a straight-line cause-and-effect relationship, that the more heavily a country criminalizes the use of drugs, the greater the usage of those drugs is. It is important to make a distinction between decriminalization and legalization. Under decriminalization possession and use of certain drugs is still illegal, but evidence of such usage is handled administratively rather than through the criminal courts system. Being caught with drugs therefore does not create a criminal record, with the symbolic and concrete impact this can have on peoples' lives. It turns out that under such a regime more drug users, freed of the fear of a prison sentence or the stigma of a criminal record, seek treatment, which is usually recommended and in some cases mandatory for those caught repeatedly. The country that has most completely instituted a decriminalization regime is Portugal, which on July 1, 2001, decriminalized all drugs, including cocaine and heroin. Constitutional lawyer andSalon.com commentator Glenn Greenwald did a comprehensive study of the effects of decriminalization in Portugal earlier this year, and found that the drug abuse situation for most previously illicit drugs, including overdose deaths and disease transmission, had improved significantly, compared with the predecriminalization period and compared with other EU countries. In Portugal the consumption, possession and acquisition of drugs amounting to a 10-day supply for an average user is an administrative offense. Trafficking, defined as possessing more than a 10-day supply, is still punished through the criminal law. Those caught with small amounts of drugs are referred to what is called a Dissuasion Commission, which has wide discretion as to whether to impose a fine or other penalty. While the commissions cannot impose mandatory treatment, they can make suspension of a fine conditional on entering treatment. Users found to be addicts can be subject to a wider range of sanction, including suspension of the right to practice a licensed profession and a ban on visiting high-risk locales or associating with certain individuals. But the emphasis is on treatment. One might suppose that decriminalization was instituted because authorities had developed a laissez-faire attitude toward drug use. In fact, as Greenwald writes, "the political impetus for decriminalization was the fact that drug abuse - both in itself and its accompanying pathologies - was an uncontrollable social problem." Drug usage, drug deaths and drug-related disease all skyrocketed during the 1990s under criminalization. A commission convened in 1998 came up with decriminalization as the most effective strategy to get these pathologies under control. Most EU countries have adopted more harm-reduction-oriented policies than the U.S. has, including several that have depenalized (no jail time) marijuana possession. But Portugal is the only country that has gone all the way to decriminalization. Some predicted a dramatic increase in drug usage and "drug tourism." Paulo Portas of the conservative Popular Party said: "There will be planeloads of students heading for [Portugal] to smoke marijuana and take a lot worse, knowing we won't put them in jail. We promise sun, beaches and any drug you want." Didn't happen. Since decriminalization roughly 95 percent of those cited for drug offenses have been Portuguese. In fact, the results have been dramatic - in the other direction. Since decriminalization lifetime prevalence rates (any consumption over a lifetime) have decreased, especially for the critical adolescent-young-adult population cohort. For 13-15-year-olds the rate decreased from 14.1 percent in 2001 to 10.6 percent in 2006. For 16-18-year-olds, the lifetime prevalence rate, which had increased from 14.1 percent in 1995 to 27.6 percent in 2001, fell to 21.6 percent in 2006. Perhaps most significantly, heroin use, which officials felt was the most socially destructive drug, fell from 2.5 percent to 1.8 percent from 1999-2005. The number of drug-related HIV and AIDS cases has declined substantially every year, as have Hepatitis B and C infections and drug-related mortality rates. When compared with the rest of the EU, usage rates in Portugal, which had been among the highest in Europe, are now among the lowest. Portugal now has the lowest lifetime prevalence for cannabis (marijuana) usage in Europe, 8.2 percent, while in Europe generally it is 25 percent. Portugal has a lifetime rate of 1.6 percent for cocaine, compared to 4 percent for Europe generally. For whatever bundle of reasons, we should start getting accustomed to the idea that harsh anti-drugs laws are often correlated with a worsening of drug problems and decriminalization with bringing them into manageable bounds. Mr. Greenwald cites a 2008 survey of 17 countries showing that the U.S. had by far the highest level of cocaine use over a lifetime (16.2 percent to second-place New Zealand's 4.3 percent) and the highest level of cannabis use. As Greenwald writes, "stringent criminalization laws do not produce lower drug usage, and some data suggest the opposite may be true." Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the pro-reform Drug Policy Alliance, told me that while Mexico's move is encouraging, it would be a mistake to expect the results to replicate Portugal's exactly. Portugal prepared the ground with a thorough commission report and achieved commitment from law enforcement, while Mexico decriminalized smaller amounts, still has a culture of corruption, and may be less prepared to implement the new law, especially when it comes to offering treatment. I would add that Mexico makes no provision for acquisition of drugs, which is likely to leave the black market largely undisturbed and still powerful. Decriminalization combined with a determination to end trafficking can leave users still dependent on the black market as is still the case for all too many medical patients in California. The way to undermine a black market is to allow a white market to emerge. Nonetheless, Mexico's move, combined with a court decision in Argentina last week that will have a similar impact on small-time users, has the potential to put a significant dent in the religion of prohibitionism. Now if we can just get politicians in the U.S. to pay attention. Prepared by: Richard Lake, Senior Editor www.mapinc.org =.

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