Portugal’s Drug Policy: What are the Effects of a Decriminalization Framework

By: Jacob Vande Zande

In 2001, Portugal adopted a new drug policy, which among other things, decriminalized the “consumption, acquisition and possession” of all drugs.[1] The law did not legalize the use of drugs, but rather made such activities an administrative violation.[2] Although the law did decriminalize some lower-level drug activities, the law did not provide broad deregulation of drugs as production, sale, and distribution remained illegal.[3] In addition, Article 2 did not decriminalize all drug possession, rather it provided specific limitations: “[T]he acquisition and possession for own use of the substances referred to in the preceding paragraph shall not exceed the quantity required for an average individual consumption during a period of 10 days.”[4] Therefore, criminal penalties are still available for people that are caught with quantities above the legal limit.

Another central feature of the new drug policy was the introduction of the Commissions for the Dissuasion of Drug Addiction (CDTs).[5] CDTs are the authorities that police refer people found in possession of drugs.[6] In response to referrals, CDTs have the authority to issue sanctions like fines, suspensions of professional licenses, or mandatory reporting. [7] However, their central goal is to discourage drug use and encourage those with drug dependencies to seek treatment. [8] Consequently, in response to individuals believed to have drug dependencies, CDTs make recommendations that such individuals take part in treatment or educational programs. [9]

Ultimately, Portugal’s new drug policy inspired a lot of attention and has continued to be at the center of the drug debate as an example of one of the more progressive approaches.[10] Consequently, while many praised the new policy including authors of reports that concluded that Portugal’s drug policy has been a success, there are others that are not so sure.[11] For example, one interesting issue the policy has prompted is whether Portugal’s decriminalization law itself actually made a significant impact, or if the new law merely codified an already established approach to drug regulation.

The argument that the decriminalization law was much more of a codification of existing practices than a radical reform is supported by the fact that the decriminalization of personal drug use had little effect on punishment as even before the enactment of the decriminalization law, there were nearly no instances of prison sentences for drug use.[12] “In 2000, for example, the year before the decriminalization law went into effect, there were only twenty-five individuals in prison for crimes involving drug use. Another 121 individuals, roughly 3 percent of the incarcerated drug offender population, had traffic-consumption convictions.”[13] Moreover, even the Cato report, which praised the Portuguese framework as a major success, acknowledged the fact that imprisonment for possession was rare even before decriminalization.[14] Ultimately, there is solid evidence to support the argument that the decriminalization law was closer to prevailing policy than radical change. 

However, the evidence to support this argument alone does not disprove the success of Portugal’s decriminalization policy. As previously stated, there was another significant feature of Portugal’s decriminalization framework, and this other major feature, the introduction of the Commissions for the Dissuasion of Drug Addiction, was largely effective in accomplishing its goals of shifting social perceptions and encouraging people to seek help.[15]

First, the decriminalization law advanced a message that destigmatized drug abuse and as a result, helped inspire the public to be more tolerant and understanding.[16] According to the report written by Caitlin Hughes and Alex Stevens, “[k]ey informants also pointed to a reduction in fear about the drugs issue. As a result, the general public is more likely to admit to past or present drug use and to seek or encourage other drug users to obtain assistance.”[17] In addition, although there was little risk of a prison sentence for drug use before the 2001 decriminalization law, there was still a significant fear of being identified as a drug user and the stigma that came along with it.[18] Nevertheless, the positive change in the public’s attitude toward drug use has been affirmed by Portuguese drug policy officials as evidenced by the Deputy Director Intervention on Addictive Behaviors and Dependencies (SICAD), Manuel Cardos’ statement that “before decriminalization, addicts were afraid to seek treatment because they feared they would be denounced to the police and arrested, now they know they will be treated as patients with a problem and not stigmatized as criminals.”[19]

Moreover, decriminalization has promoted the policy goal of encouraging drug abusers to seek treatment. Consequently, that policy goal has proved effective as data from drug treatment centers show that in 1998, “23,654 drug users received some form of drug treatment. The number rose to 29,204 in 2000, the year before implementation of the Decriminalization Act; by 2008, the total number in treatment reached 38,532.”[20]  Similarly, the report written by Caitlin Hughes and Alex Stevens concluded that the statistical indicators suggest that since the establishment of the decriminalization framework, there has been an “[i]ncreased uptake of treatment.”[21]

Ultimately, while it may be true that Portugal’s 2001 decriminalization law was just the codification of the existing policy, the decriminalization framework succeeded at destigmatizing drug abuse and fostered acceptance and understanding, which encouraged abusers to seek treatment. The takeaway from Portugal’s decriminalization framework should not be the legislation itself, instead, the focus should be on the policy goals it sought to accomplish.[22] Because in the end, decriminalization successfully freed a portion of the population from significant fear and stigmatization, encouraged drug abusers to seek treatment, and promoted the message that drug abuse should not be combated by criminal sanctions, but rather with treatment through therapeutic means.[23]

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[1] Law 30/2000, Article 2(1).

[2] Id.

[3] Law 15/93, Chapter IV, Article 40-41

[4] Law 30/2000, Article 2(2).

[5] Law 30/2000, Article 7. See Caitlin Hughes & Alex Stevens, The Effects of Decriminalization of Drug Use in Portugal, Beckley Foundation (2007); Glenn Greenwald, Drug Decriminalization in Portugal: Lessons for Creating Fair and Successful Drug Policies, Cato Institute (2009).

[6] Hughes, supra note 5, at 1.

[7] Id. at 1.

[8] Id. at 1-2.

[9] Id. at 2

[10] See Hughes, supra note 5; Greenwald, supra note 5.

[11] See Hughes, supra note 5; Greenwald, supra note 5.

[12] See Hannah Laqueur, Uses and Abuses of Drug Decriminalization in Portugal, 40 LSINQ 746, 754 (2005).

[13] Laqueur, supra note 8, at 754.

[14] Greenwald, supra note 5, at 7.

[15] See Hughes, supra note 5, at 9; Greenwald, supra note 5, at 28.

[16] See Hughes, supra note 5, at 7.

[17] Id.

[18] Greenwald, supra note 5, at 9.

[19] Laqueur, supra note 8, at 768.

[20] Id.

[21] Hughes, supra note 5, at 9.

[22] See Laqueur, supra note 8, at 749.

[23] See id. at 759.