07/08/2026
I think the way the entire system deals with addicts/alcoholics is trash. People look at addiction like it’s a personal problem. It’s not’s it’s a connection problem. Sobriety isn’t the opposite of addiction, it’s connection. When I became addicted I severed any healthy bonds I had with people and became bonded with my substance. You want The answer, it is to take the addict out of that environment for more than “30 days” and teach them to establish new healthy bonds with healthy people. I might come off crazy but DECRIMINALIZE DRUGS! Legalize personal amounts, & Stop sending those people to jail (except for big traffickers, violence, dealers that cause overdoses etc), and send them to treatment. Look back in 2001 Portugal decriminalized drugs and SIGNIFICANTLY decreased pretty much all of the symptoms caused by addiction.
Overdose Deaths: Dropped from 369 deaths in 1999 down to 30 deaths by 2016.
HIV Transmissions: New HIV cases from injected drug use fell from 1,798 cases in 1999 to just 17 cases in 2021.
Severe Addiction: The total estimated number of he**in users plummeted from 100,000 people down to 25,000 people by 2018.
Voluntary Treatment: The number of individuals actively enrolled in drug rehab programs jumped by over 60%, rising from 23,600 to roughly 38,000. Nearly 75% of people with problematic drug use are now reached by treatment.
Incarceration Rates: The number of people locked up behind bars specifically for drug offenses crashed from 3,863 people in 1999 down to 1,140 people by 2017.
Prison Demographics: Drug offenders made up 44% of the entire prison population in 1999. Following decriminalization, they dropped to just 15% of the prison population.
Arrests and Police Focus: Possession arrests for personal drug use fell from roughly 14,000 per year to zero, as personal amounts are no longer a criminal offense. This allowed customs agents to focus entirely on major traffickers, resulting in a 300% increase in the amount of co***ne seized.
Unhoused Impacts:
Following the implementation of the 2001 law, homelessness among drug users in Portugal decreased by 68% over a two-decade span. Between 2000 and 2021, the number of unhoused individuals whose primary struggle was drug addiction fell by more than two-thirds. By removing criminal penalties, the government ensured that a drug addiction did not result in a permanent criminal record, which historically blocked people from passing background checks for housing and apartment rentals.
Portugal's policy shifted funds away from prisons and into mobile health units, which expanded by 400%. Street teams and vans go directly to encampments to hand out clean supplies, offer methadone, and place people into immediate supportive housing.
And anyone that says Oregon tried it and failed, it’s because they jumped the gun and didn’t have infrastructure ready before they started decriminalizing.
Any thoughts?
