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This is a myth that is endlessly repeated and will apparently never die. If you are caught possessing illegal drugs in Portugal, you are required to go in front

This is a myth that is endlessly repeated and will apparently never die. If you are caught possessing illegal drugs in Portugal, you are required to go in front a disciplinary tribunal that can mandate drug rehab and impose fines. If you refuse to attend rehab, they can jail you. They can impose a whole host of other legal consequences, including loss of professional license, passport, they can mandate that you're not allowed to hang out with certain people, etc. Drug dealing is still 'lock you up in jail' illegal. Saying drugs are decriminalized in Portugal is like saying speeding everywhere is decriminalized. They moved legal sanctions to an administrative court, but they're still sanctions. I invite you to read this whole page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_policy_of_Portugal#Laws_and_regulations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_policy_of_Portugal#Laws_a...

OkayPhysicist 3y ago
I think your misunderstanding stems from the definition of "decriminalized". Decriminalized does not mean legal. As it is commonly used "speeding everywhere" is, in fact, decriminalized, in that you will not land in prison for it, and the penalty is merely a fine, and maybe some driver's school if you're a repeat offender. This is greatly preferable to the alternative.
RodGodKiller 3y ago
It's not a crime to consume, but it's still illegal. Drugs weren't legalised, they were decriminalised. As you can see here (https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/lei/30-2000-599720 https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/lei/30-2000-599720) it explicitly says, in Portuguese law, that drug consumption was decriminalised. (Just search for "descriminalização".)