Legalize It

Seems that back in 2001 the drug scene in Portugal was awful, so the government up and tried a different tactic, the decriminalized most drugs. And....well, it worked according to a recent report from Glenn Greenwald (the very same) for the Cato Institute.

The data show that, judged by virtually every metric, the Portuguese decriminalization framework has been a resounding success. Within this success lie self-evident lessons that should guide drug policy debates around the world.

As Freakonomics mentions drug use and HIV rates are down and people seeking treatment is way up.

This does help explain why when I was in Lisbon a couple of years ago a guy started yelling at me form across one of the city's main squares. "America! Hey America!" he yelled (I was the only person over 5'10 or with blond hair for miles) and when I turned to look he continued; "America! Hash-Hish!" he yelled grinning and waving two huge bags.