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Politics : Evolution -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: 2MAR$ who wrote (31646)	12/10/2012 7:46:49 AM
From: Brumar89	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 69300

It's not legal in Portugal. And they still spend lots of money on fighting drug use. The drug policy of Portugal was put in place in 2000, and was legally effective from July 2001. The new law maintained the status of illegality for using or possessing any drug for personal use without authorization. However, the offense was changed from a criminal one, with prison a possible punishment, to an administrative one if the amount possessed was no more than ten days' supply of that substance. ..... A vast expansion of harm reduction efforts, doubling the investment of public funds in drug treatment and drug prevention services, and changing the legal framework dealing with minor drug offences were the main elements of the policy thrust. .... There are 73 specialised treatment facilities (public and certified private therapeutic communities), 14 detoxification units, 70 public outpatient facilities and 13 accredited day centres. ........ In July 2001 a new law maintained the status of illegality for using or possessing any drug for personal use without authorization. The offense was changed from a criminal one, with prison a possible punishment, to an administrative one if the amount possessed was no more than ten days' supply of that substance. [1] This was in line with the de facto Portuguese drug policy before the reform. Drug addicts were then to be aggressively targeted with therapy or community service rather than fines or waivers. [7] Even if there are no criminal penalties, these changes did not legalize drug use in Portugal. Possession has remained prohibited by Portuguese law, and criminal penalties are still applied to drug growers, dealers and traffickers. [8] [9] [ edit] Regulation Individuals found in possession of small quantities of drugs are issued summons. The drugs are confiscated, and the suspect is interviewed by a “Commission for the Dissuasion of Drug Addiction” (Comissões para a Dissuasão da Toxicodependência – CDT). These commissions are made up of three people: A social worker, a psychiatrist, and an attorney. [9] [10] The dissuasion commission have powers comparable to an arbitration committee, but restricted to cases involving drug use or possession of small amounts of drugs. There is one CDT in each of Portugal’s 18 districts. The committees have a broad range of sanctions available to them when ruling on the drug use offence. These include: Fines, ranging from 25 to 150 EURO. These figures are based on the Portuguese minimum wage of about 485 EURO (Banco de Portugal, 2001) and translate into hours of work lost. Suspension of the right to practice if the user has a licensed profession (e.g. medical doctor, taxi driver) and may endanger another person or someone's possessions. Ban on visiting certain places (e.g. specific discothèques) Ban on associating with specific other persons. Foreign travel ban. Requirement to report periodically to the committee. Withdrawal of the right to carry a gun. Confiscation of personal possessions. Cessation of subsidies or allowances that a person receives from a public agency. If the person is addicted to drugs, he or she may be admitted to a drug rehabilitation facility or be given community service, if the dissuasion committee finds that this better serves the purpose of keeping the offender out of trouble. The committee cannot mandate compulsory treatment, although its orientation is to induce addicts to enter and remain in treatment. The committee has the explicit power to suspend sanctions conditional upon voluntary entry into treatment. If the offender is not addicted to drugs, or unwilling to submit to treatment or community service, he may be given a fine. [1] [11] [12] [13] [ edit] Law enforcement Every year, Portuguese law enforcement bodies confiscate several tonnes of cocaine, with a record amount of more than 34.5 tonnes seized in 2006. A regular increase in quantities of cannabis resin seized could also be observed over recent years, though there has been a recent decline between 2008 (61 tonnes) and 2009 (23 tonnes). [1] ...... Legal status of cannabis in Portugal [ edit] Consumption and possession In Portugal, recreational use of cannabis is forbidden by law; also the medicinal use is not yet officially recognized (there are a debate and some law projects in the Portuguese Parliament). Portugal signed all the UN conventions on narcotics and psychotropic to date. With the 2001 decriminalization bill, the consumer is now regarded as a patient and not as a criminal (having the amount usually used for ten days of personal use is not a punishible crime) but repression persists. One can be sent to a dissuasion committee and have a talk or must pay a fee. According to libertarian think tank the Cato Institute, illegal drug use among Portuguese teenagers declined after 2001, and 45 percent of the country's heroin addicts sought medical treatment. But critics of the policy, such as the Association for a Drug-Free Portugal, say overall consumption of drugs in the country has actually risen by 4.2 percent since 2001 and claim the benefits of decriminalization are being "over-egged." [ edit] Cultivation and distribution The cultivation of cannabis, even if in very small-scale home grow for personal use only, can legally be prosecuted. However, an unknown number of enthusiasts of small-scale home growing, grow the plants with a high degree of secrecy due to the legal punishment they could face if persecuted and due to potential social stigma as well. In neighbouring Spain, small-scale cultivation of cannabis plants for personal use only is tolerated by the authorities and there are many grow shops across that country selling their products both physically and online. In 2003 another update to the "Portuguese drugs law" brought the criminalization of the possession of cannabis seeds, except certified industrial hemp seed. This law made the buying of cannabis seeds from legal and financially transparent online cannabis seed shops based in other European Union member states, such as neighbouring Spain or The Netherlands, an unlawful transaction when performed by a Portuguese residing in Portugal. A shady tone of a law that in practice, while targeting the personal non-problematic home growers, benefits the black market of near-monopoly of Moroccan commercial hashish and the usually violent and heavily armed drug cartels. The provision of seeds, tools to produce and consume cannabis etc., is also illegal in the country. Production and distribution of hemp products is legal but regulated. There are a few hemp shops in Portugal and hemp products are legal. ... en.wikipedia.org