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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 ar

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.

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.