[ExI] Libertarianism wins again...

[BillK]

On Wed, Jul 20, 2011 at 5:47 PM, Kelly Anderson wrote:
> This is a major point on the libertarian agenda. Get rid of the
> prohibition against drugs, and legitimize the cartels as legal
> businesses, tax them, and move on trying to educate people not to use
> drugs, even though they are now legal. Just as we do with cigarettes
> and alcohol. It gets rid of the requirement for guns (how many armed
> guards do you see at your local corn field?) and removes an important
> profit center from organized crime.
>
>

It is now 10 years since Portugal decriminalised drugs and they are
reporting great successes.

<http://news.yahoo.com/portugal-drug-law-show-results-ten-years-experts-180013798.html>
Quote:
"There is no doubt that the phenomenon of addiction is in decline in
Portugal," said Joao Goulao, President of the Institute of Drugs and
Drugs Addiction, a press conference to mark the 10th anniversary of
the law.

The number of addicts considered "problematic" -- those who repeatedly
use "hard" drugs and intravenous users -- had fallen by half since the
early 1990s, when the figure was estimated at around 100,000 people,
Goulao said.

Other factors had also played their part however, Goulao, a medical
doctor added.

"This development can not only be attributed to decriminalisation but
to a confluence of treatment and risk reduction policies."

Portugal's holistic approach had also led to a "spectacular" reduction
in the number of infections among intravenous users and a significant
drop in drug-related crimes, he added.
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BillK