Nicholas Kristoff (New York Times) on Portugal's effective and humane drug policy

Published on September 24, 2017, "How to Win A War on Drugs," the lead story in the Sunday Review section of The New York Times.

The heart of this report is how Portugal's decriminalization drug policy, adopted in 2001, focusing on public health outreach and not using criminal justice resources against drug users, has dramatically reduced deaths, HIV, and the number of heroin users.

Concludes Kristoff, "The lesson that Portugal offers the world is that while we can't eradicate heroin, it's possible to save the lives of drug users -- if we're willing to treat them not as criminals but as sick, suffering human beings who need helping hands, not handcuffs."

Exactly, treat drug users as human beings, and if when they are suffering, help them.

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