4 ms·

Portuguese here: I read that the current program is underfunded and having issues. https://www.publico.pt/2023/10/31/sociedade/noticia/consumo-droga-volta-ruas

Portuguese here: I read that the current program is underfunded and having issues. https://www.publico.pt/2023/10/31/sociedade/noticia/consumo-droga-volta-ruas-nao-conseguir-dar-resposta-afluencia-2068368 https://www.publico.pt/2023/10/31/sociedade/noticia/consumo-...

HideousKojima 3y ago
I don't know about Portuguese politics, but at least here in the US ~90% of the time when I hear that something is "underfunded" or "had funding cut" and look into it the reality ends up being "funding for the program was not increased at the rate at which advocates wanted" but actual funding levels stayed the same or continued to increase. Are there any hard numbers for actual past funding levels compared to the present?
- kranke155 3y ago
  I could try and find this if you're that interested. Likely I can find a portuguese level source for it.
- kranke155 3y ago
  "João Goulão — head of Portugal’s national institute on drug use and the architect of decriminalization — admitted to the local press in December that “what we have today no longer serves as an example to anyone.” Rather than fault the policy, however, he blames a lack of funding. After years of economic crisis, Portugal decentralized its drug oversight operation in 2012. A funding drop from 76 million euros ($82.7 million) to 16 million euros ($17.4 million) forced Portugal’s main institution to outsource work previously done by the state to nonprofit groups, including the street teams that engage with people who use drugs." From the Washington Post article. https://web.archive.org/web/20230816172031/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/07/portugal-drugs-decriminalization-heroin-crack/ https://web.archive.org/web/20230816172031/https://www.washi...
kranke155 3y ago
The commenters seem to me to be more saying that the program itself is somehow flawed. What flaws it has, of course, are always quite nebulous, and seem to apply more to US efforts than our own.

HideousKojima 3y ago

I don't know about Portuguese politics, but at least here in the US ~90% of the time when I hear that something is "underfunded" or "had funding cut" and look into it the reality ends up being "funding for the program was not increased at the rate at which advocates wanted" but actual funding levels stayed the same or continued to increase. Are there any hard numbers for actual past funding levels compared to the present?

kranke155 3y ago
I could try and find this if you're that interested. Likely I can find a portuguese level source for it.
kranke155 3y ago
"João Goulão — head of Portugal’s national institute on drug use and the architect of decriminalization — admitted to the local press in December that “what we have today no longer serves as an example to anyone.” Rather than fault the policy, however, he blames a lack of funding. After years of economic crisis, Portugal decentralized its drug oversight operation in 2012. A funding drop from 76 million euros ($82.7 million) to 16 million euros ($17.4 million) forced Portugal’s main institution to outsource work previously done by the state to nonprofit groups, including the street teams that engage with people who use drugs." From the Washington Post article. https://web.archive.org/web/20230816172031/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/07/portugal-drugs-decriminalization-heroin-crack/ https://web.archive.org/web/20230816172031/https://www.washi...

kranke155 3y ago

The commenters seem to me to be more saying that the program itself is somehow flawed. What flaws it has, of course, are always quite nebulous, and seem to apply more to US efforts than our own.