As we know, the pandemic has brought  a tremendous amount of negative consequences. One of the predicted aftermaths of the current situation is the increase of the drug problem in the society. Is decriminalization the only way to combat this issue?

The impact of Covid-19 on drug related issues

During the 64th session of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been highlighted. The pandemic has led to drastic changes in how drugs are consumed, sold and manufactured.

Firstly, new patterns of drug consumption have been developing, including poly-substance use. Secondly, the shift of resources caused by the pandemic resulted in under-funding of rehabilitation facilities which have not been able to accommodate for the increasing number of patients. In addition to that, lack of face-to-face contact and over-occupied health care have resulted in the plummeting access to help. Consequently, the drug-related risks and mortality have increased. The UNODC also drew attention to the new methods of drug supply and manufacture, encompassing the dark net and new trafficking routes.

The Office predicts that the pandemic can lead to a more drug-dependent with an increase of both drug-related criminal activities (such as production and trafficking) as well as related health and social consequences. The traditional policies dealing with illicit drugs based on criminal prosecution evidently are not up to the taks of dealing with the pandemic's predicted aftermath.

The Office has called for improvements in response to the drug crisis, focusing on the accessibility of drug use disorders treatments, especially for the incarcerated. Although the Office has not explicitly called for wide decriminalization of any drugs, it has supported and given the platform to the Rome Consensus. The Agreement calls for prioritization of health-based policies such as practical harm reduction, accessible treatment and rehabilitation services over conviction and punishment for drug-related crimes. All the 31 United Nations have agreed to refocusing the policies programs away from punishment and repression, towards effective health and social support. The proposed policies align closely with the principles of decriminalization, or at least depenalization or non-enforcement.

What is decriminalization of drugs?

Although there is no set definition of decriminalization, it essentially refers to reduction or even complete elimination of criminal penalties for drug use and possession. It could entail changing them to civil penalties, fines or community work. Usually decriminalization does not apply to sale or supply of illegal substances.

Recently, decriminalization has become an popularly practiced change of law. However, while number of states have imposed decriminalization of cannabis, decriminalization of a wider range of psychoactive substances is currently only effectively operating in Portugal. Some states, such as Netherlands, have introduced a policy of non-enforcement where a person would not be prosecuted for possession if the amount of substance they were found with is below the set bar.

How does decriminalization work?

The Portuguese system has been receiving quite a lot of praise globally for its division between dependent and non-dependent drug users. The system is based on the operation of local commissions placed in every Portuguese district. The commissions usually  consist of a mental health, legal and social work specialists. Their main task is to assess a person that has been found in possession of psychoactive substances within the allowed limit.* Anything above that limit qualifies for prosecution.

The assessment is done through an interview to determine their relationship with the drugs, more specifically whether there is some substance abuse or addiction. The whole process is incredibly fast-paced: the person must appear before the commission within three days from the time of the initial referral. There are three possible conclusions of the assessment: (1) drug dependence resulting in treatment referral (2) within the risk group – usually referred to a psychologist for further insight (3) non-dependence resulting in a warning.

Those who are found dependent are provided with proper treatment instead of facing prosecution and probable incarceration which often leads to even further issues. Nevertheless, despite the common misconception, Portugal is not some kind of drug paradise with no liability for recreational drug use. If caught with drugs again within five years from the former assessment, there are number of legal sanctions a person can face. These could entail anything from a fine, community service to suspension of medical or driver’s license. After all, drugs are still illegal in Portugal.

The positive outcomes of decriminalization

The decriminalization in Portugal has proved highly effective in solving many drug-related issues. It has reduced the burden of the criminal system and the level of incarceration. Consequently, the resources have shifted from the justice system to health care, leading to more successful rehabilitation. It contributed to reduction of the stigma surrounding drug use allowing people to seek for help more willingly. A dramatic drop in HIV, hepatitis infections and overdose deaths has also followed. The HIV cases plummeted by about 100 new cases per million between 2000 and 2015. Moreover, it resulted in decreased heroine seizures.

Is decriminalization a way to go?

As seen on the example of Portugal, decriminalization does have some incredible results.  However, it is difficult to attribute all the positive phenomena occurring in Portugal directly to the reform in law. In fact, it is also due to the number of other policies imposed by Portuguese government, including subsidies to health care, integrated system of treatment, dealing with squatting sites. The decriminalization indeed have made it easier for broad range of services to deliver more effective support to their communities. Nevertheless, it is due to the whole programme and how the policies have been put to operation that the change in law has been successful.

Actually, Portugal has been recently criticized for stagnation after the introduction of decriminalization. Although the state has a complex treatment network, there are almost no preventive measures. The state is lacking education in terms of harm reduction, supervised injection sites and drug consumption facilities which would further decrease number of health issues.

Moreover, there has been some negative outcomes too, especially stemming from the cannabis use. The age of drug use initiation has dropped signaling that more teenagers start to use drugs, most significantly cannabis. On the top of that, there has been a rise in cannabis-related psychosis admissions in hospitals. Arguably, however, these could be attributed to the fact that people are not scared to openly state that they have been using drugs in a less stigmatizing society. Moreover, a lot of the negative effects of decriminalization could be minimized by education and promotion of harm reduction.

There also has been an argument, usually put forward by the states with more conservative approach to drugs, that there is no need for the change of law as long as the division between dependent and non-dependent drug users is established. Although it seems like a good idea, similar systems have been operating around the world and proved not effective, mostly because such policies do not deal with the drug-associated stigma.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, it has been argued that decriminalization is actually the worst of both worlds and the law should be liberalized even further. Decriminalization is thought to facilitate increased use of drugs, consequently enlarging the black markets and encouraging criminal actions, including gang violence. Therefore, it does not really decrease the police burden to a significant extent as could be done by full legalization.

Would legalization of drugs be a better solution?

For sure, a regulated government monopoly, like Systembolaget for alcohol in Sweden, could produce high revenue that in turn could be used to combat the social and health consequences of drug use. Research suggests that a year for a regulated cannabis market in New South Wales in the direct income of $600 million. Drugs would be of high quality avoiding the harmful consequences of  non-pure substances. Moreover, the lack of black market actions would decrease gang violence and hence increase the safety. However, these arguments are based on mere assumptions and effects of legalization of cannabis which is not the same as legalization of all sorts of psychoactive substances.

Legalization could lead to dramatic increase in drug consumption, leading to situation that we are currently experiencing with alcohol and tobacco. Despite high taxes, the burden put on the health care system is too high. Of course, it could be argued that some currently illegal drugs such as psychedelics or MDMA have relatively low harmful effects, lower than legal psychoactive substances. However, if we decided on legalization of just several drugs the issues with black market on the rest of substances would still prevail.

Certainly, a global reform of approach to drugs and drug-related issues is very much needed. However, as much as decriminalization is a desirable change of law, it is not enough. To achieve less drug-dependent society, we need a series of reforms focused on preventive measures in form of broad harm reduction education. It is still a step in a good direction, hopefully changing the attitude towards the drug problem.

*heroin: 1 gram, ecstasy 1 gram, amphetamine 1 gram, cocaine 2 grams, cannabis 25 grams

Sources:

Pierre Anderson "Decriminalization of drugs. What can we learn from Portugal?", Narkotika Politikst Center, 2020

Susana Ferreira "Portugal's radical drug policy is working. Why hasn't the world copied it?", Guardian, 2017

Alison Ritter "Decriminalization or legislation: injecting evidence in the drug law reform debate", National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre

Transform "Drug Decriminalization in Portugal: Setting the record straight", 2018

The Rome Consensus 2.0

United Nations Economic and Social Council "Statement of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs on the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on the implementation of Member States’ joint commitments to address and counter all aspects of the world drug problem", 2021