Portugal decriminalized the use of all drugs in 2001. Weed, cocaine, heroin, you name it -- Portugal decided to treat possession and use of small quantities of these drugs as a public health issue, not a criminal one. The drugs were still illegal, but now getting caught with them meant a small fine and maybe a referral to a treatment program -- not jail time and a criminal record. The prevalence of past-year and past-month drug use among young adults has fallen since 2001.