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The fact that things work differently outside of the US yet most foreign countries still haven't adopted it suggests that none of your purported reasons are the

The fact that things work differently outside of the US yet most foreign countries still haven't adopted it suggests that none of your purported reasons are the primary cause. They almost certainly are tiny things with very small marginal contributions when countries as varied as Russia, Australia, Sweden, Poland, Singapore, and Switzerland -- who don't have of the factors you mention -- also have failed to follow Portugal's innovation.

gardenhose23 9y ago
Many of those countries don't treat drugs anywhere near like the way the US does. Switzerland in fact has a system very similar to what is described in this article. Methadone (and even in some cases heroin) is readily dispensed to those in need. You aren't going to end up with a 10 year sentence for possessing hard drugs, you'll be helped.
- freddie_mercury 9y ago
  And plenty of countries without private prisons or large alcohol & tobacco companies or "slave labor" treat drugs way worse than the US. My point isn't that "countries all treat things exactly the same". My point is that the OP's alleged reasons don't really hold up once you abandon a myopic US-centric view and actually look at other countries.
  - thomasfortes 9y ago
    With the exception of the ones with insane politics involving execution, dictatorships or the ones that have a harsh posture because of religious motives, I can't find a single one that has a war on drugs at the same level as the United States, can you point me to some sources about democratic countries that are worse than the United States on this specific point?
    - jaredklewis 9y ago
      Not sure how your question is relevant to the parent’s point that US centric problems are probably not the sole cause that portugal’s policies have not been adopted, given many countries outside the US also haven’t adopted the policies. But to your question, I would note that drug laws in Japan and South Korea are among the harshest in the world.
    - adventured 9y ago
      Most of Asia has even harsher drug laws than the US does, that includes China (you know, 1.3 billion people and the world's second largest economy). Their enforcement budgets are nowhere near as large per capita and they don't have the idiotic mandatory minimum sentencing laws that the US implemented a few decades ago (which is largely the cause of the huge prison population increase).
- CaptainZapp 9y ago
  Maybe some clarificatio on that: While it's true that heroin is distributed to hardcore addicts (at cost and paid by health insurance) it is in no way readily dispensed. The conditions to enter those programs are rather strict. Depending on age, attempts to kick the habit and other factors. That said. I'd say that the program is very successful for two main reasons: It massively raises the health of the addicts and lets them actually conduct a normal life despite being addicted. It also totally changed the image of the drug from something around hero mystique (as it had in the 80s and partially 90s) to a total loser drug. While there certainly still is a problem for a lot of addicts uptake has seriously declined.
mnm1 9y ago
US drives UN policy. They may be tiny US issues, but the US makes them giant world issues. The reason none of these countries has adopted a policy like Portugal's is the UN treaties. And the UN treaties exist because the US created them. Even Portugal is skating on thin ice with decriminalization but if they wanted to legalize, they would have difficulties fulfilling their obligations to the UN. In the end, until the US changes the UN treaties, few will ever go against the will of the US. That doesn't mean they don't want to or that they aren't holding back progress on this issue simply to appease the US. They most certainly are.

gardenhose23 9y ago

Many of those countries don't treat drugs anywhere near like the way the US does. Switzerland in fact has a system very similar to what is described in this article. Methadone (and even in some cases heroin) is readily dispensed to those in need. You aren't going to end up with a 10 year sentence for possessing hard drugs, you'll be helped.

freddie_mercury 9y ago
And plenty of countries without private prisons or large alcohol & tobacco companies or "slave labor" treat drugs way worse than the US. My point isn't that "countries all treat things exactly the same". My point is that the OP's alleged reasons don't really hold up once you abandon a myopic US-centric view and actually look at other countries.
- thomasfortes 9y ago
  With the exception of the ones with insane politics involving execution, dictatorships or the ones that have a harsh posture because of religious motives, I can't find a single one that has a war on drugs at the same level as the United States, can you point me to some sources about democratic countries that are worse than the United States on this specific point?
  - jaredklewis 9y ago
    Not sure how your question is relevant to the parent’s point that US centric problems are probably not the sole cause that portugal’s policies have not been adopted, given many countries outside the US also haven’t adopted the policies. But to your question, I would note that drug laws in Japan and South Korea are among the harshest in the world.
  - adventured 9y ago
    Most of Asia has even harsher drug laws than the US does, that includes China (you know, 1.3 billion people and the world's second largest economy). Their enforcement budgets are nowhere near as large per capita and they don't have the idiotic mandatory minimum sentencing laws that the US implemented a few decades ago (which is largely the cause of the huge prison population increase).
CaptainZapp 9y ago
Maybe some clarificatio on that: While it's true that heroin is distributed to hardcore addicts (at cost and paid by health insurance) it is in no way readily dispensed. The conditions to enter those programs are rather strict. Depending on age, attempts to kick the habit and other factors. That said. I'd say that the program is very successful for two main reasons: It massively raises the health of the addicts and lets them actually conduct a normal life despite being addicted. It also totally changed the image of the drug from something around hero mystique (as it had in the 80s and partially 90s) to a total loser drug. While there certainly still is a problem for a lot of addicts uptake has seriously declined.

mnm1 9y ago

US drives UN policy. They may be tiny US issues, but the US makes them giant world issues. The reason none of these countries has adopted a policy like Portugal's is the UN treaties. And the UN treaties exist because the US created them. Even Portugal is skating on thin ice with decriminalization but if they wanted to legalize, they would have difficulties fulfilling their obligations to the UN. In the end, until the US changes the UN treaties, few will ever go against the will of the US. That doesn't mean they don't want to or that they aren't holding back progress on this issue simply to appease the US. They most certainly are.