Once a model, crisis imperils Portugal's drug programme
Portugal's liberal drug policy held up as a model, but budget cuts and increased heroin use imperil it
Reuters
Monday, August 13, 2012
Monday, August 13, 2012
Portugal's famously liberal drug policy has been held up as a model for other countries - Norway is considering adopting parts of it and countries as far afield as Argentina have expressed interest. But experts warn that budget cuts and the threat of more cuts to come - combined with an increase in hard drug abuse - risk turning it into a shadow of its former self. "We have a certain responsibility to maintain the essential despite the recession," said Joao Goulao, the national drugs agency chief. "Other countries do look at us and seek our expertise."
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