this post was submitted on 24 Feb 2024
75 points (100.0% liked)
World News
22058 readers
59 users here now
Breaking news from around the world.
News that is American but has an international facet may also be posted here.
Guidelines for submissions:
- Where possible, post the original source of information.
- If there is a paywall, you can use alternative sources or provide an archive.today, 12ft.io, etc. link in the body.
- Do not editorialize titles. Preserve the original title when possible; edits for clarity are fine.
- Do not post ragebait or shock stories. These will be removed.
- Do not post tabloid or blogspam stories. These will be removed.
- Social media should be a source of last resort.
These guidelines will be enforced on a know-it-when-I-see-it basis.
For US News, see the US News community.
This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Ok so first, my biases. I'm going to write my best guess and then I'll read the article. So.. is it that Portugal helped people instead of simply trying to arrest them or put up anti-homeless architecture so that those better off wouldn't have to see addicts in the streets? Let's go and read now...
WELL. I'm shocked!
"Portugal's leaders responded by pivoting away from the U.S. drug war model, which prioritized narcotics seizures, arrests and lengthy prison sentences for drug offenders.
Instead, Portugal focused scarce public dollars on health care, drug treatment, job training and housing. The system, integrated into the country's taxpayer-funded national health care system, is free and relatively easy to navigate. "
Ok, I'm not that shocked.
I guess they turned to experts instead of making it a political issue led by conservatives.
Not every country is the same as the US. Other countries' conservatives aren't necessarily the same as yours. Sometimes conservatives and left-wing parties even work together to solve issues.
Your words are a beautiful sexy dream from the US.
As a Portuguese who was alive (albeit a kid) in the 90s, I can summarize this as we didn't have enough resources (both human and monetary) to keep enforcing the U.S. drug war model. Since it wasn't working and we were reaching a critical situation (like half of Lisbon in particular was filled with drug addicts shooting heroin up their veins), we turned to the experts.
The article implies this was a decision made from the beginning of this epidemic, but it was pretty much a last resort because the other model was unsustainable for the government. Not sure if we would've adopted it if we had US' resources.
Also, just giving context here, not trying to diminish this accomplishment.
I love this kind of stuff. "We've been doing what one of the most powerful and wealthy countries has been trying to do for decades without success, and we just can't afford it any more. Alright, let's dust off that report from the experts we received when this all started and see if that can help..."
As far as I remember, yeah, that's essentially what happened. At first, the government and the police saw drug addicts as criminals in the eyes of the law, and tried to go after them, which is, as far as I know, what the US and a lot of other countries do.
Thank you for giving that context! It really adds a lot to the story
I was on the edge of my seat. And by that I mean I was like, she is 100% correct