How Portugal suprisingly got rid of drugs.
Channel: R E A
Date: 2018-04-13

Before 2001 Portugal held the first place in the death rate by HIV in EU. People were literally dying on the streets! The government took a surprising decision--instead of declaring a drug war, they decided to decriminalize drugs. By treating people as patients rather than as criminals, decriminalization had a very positive impact.

Today, 17 years later, Portugal's drug death toll is 5 times below EU average. The drug-related HIV infections dropped by 90 %.

Laws can improve the quality of life and Iceland is another great example. By prohibiting alcohol advertisement, not allowing people younger than 20 to buy alcohol and giving them a scholarship to pursue their favorite activities, the percentage of teenagers smoking and drinking dropped significantly.

Portugal and Iceland didn't stop the drug abuse, but they did reduce it. Instead of judging and punishing unwanted behavior, their leaders concentrated on finding the solution and help people make better choices in the future.


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SOURCES: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_policy_of_Portugal
http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/05/portugals-radical-drugs-policy-is-working-why-hasnt-the-world-copied-it
http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/4508/TD0116918ENN.pdf
http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/data/stats2017/gps
http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/2637/TDAT16001ENN.pdf