Portugal, then (1999/2000) and now (2016/2017) - stats - [PEACE] [MINISTRY]

[Zenaan Harkness]

> And Portugal is still setting a stellar example of a "radical" drugs
> policy which actually works:
> 
>    Portugal’s radical drugs policy is working. Why hasn’t the world
>    copied it?
>    https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/05/portugals-radical-drugs-policy-is-working-why-hasnt-the-world-copied-it
> 
>   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_policy_of_Portugal


We have big, strong statistics, big and strong.

Portugal leads the world on reduction of overdose deaths, HIV
diagnoses and incarceration reduction.

We need some big, big wins in America!  These stats tell a big,
strong and powerful story.

Very powerful story to tell.

America has big, powerful opportunities!

  Then & Now: Portugal's Drug Decriminalization
  https://www.zerohedge.com/health/then-now-portugals-drug-decriminalization

    During the 1990s, Portugal was devastated by a drug crisis where
    one in every 100 people became addicted to heroin and the rate of
    HIV infection soared to become the highest in the European Union.

    But, as Statista's Niall McCarthy notes,
    https://www.statista.com/chart/20616/key-developments-since-portugal-decriminalized-drugs/
    Portugal's radical move to put an end to the carnage should prove
    an example to other countries dealing with similar problems,
    especially the United States
    https://www.statista.com/topics/3403/the-opioid-epidemic-in-the-us/
    where opioids have killed more people than the totality of
    American military casualties in Vietnam, both Iraq wars and
    Afghanistan combined.

    That move was decriminalizing the consumption of all drugs and
    Portugal became the first country to do it.

    The policy saw the status of using or possessing drugs for
    personal use remain illegal. However, offenses were changed from
    being criminal in nature which involved prison as a possible
    punishment to being administrative if the amount possessed was no
    more than a ten-day supply. Needle exchange programs have also
    been in place since 1993 and today, all drug users can exchange
    syringes at pharmacy counters across Portugal. Drug treatment was
    also expanded and improved with successful results.

    Finding historical data highlighting the severity of the
    addiction problem during the late 1990s is difficult but some
    important numbers do exist which help to show just how remarkable
    Portugal's recovery has been. The following infographic pulls
    data together from several sources to illustrate some key
    developments.
[
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 convert -strip -quality 20% in.jpeg portugal-then_and_now-reduced.jpeg
]

    Back in 1999, Portugal experienced 369 overdose deaths and in
    2016, the number was just 30. The number of new HIV diagnoses due
    to injecting has plummeted from 907 in 2000 to 18 in 2017. The
    new laws have also had an impact on incarceration with the number
    of people behind bars for drug offences falling from 3,863 in
    1999 to 1,140 in 2017.
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