Portugal: a Model for National Drug Policy?

Facts can be inconvenient things.

Take the recent report on the effects of drug decriminalisation in Portugal by Glenn Greenwald of the Cato Institute, for instance.

The reality is, as explained in the report, that the policy line taken by Portugal in 2001 - to totally decriminalise all drugs - has neither resulted in Lisbon becoming a centre for drug tourism nor in rises in drug use.

The report, in fact, shows that in many significant ways, drug use has decreased, especially in the socially significant 13-18 year-old age groups.

Before getting too excited (or angry) about this, it is worth clarifying what actually took place in Portuguese law in 2001:

• The possession and personal use of drugs remained illegal but was decriminalised. This means that the action was treated as an administrative issue and had no criminal implications or penalties attached to it
  
• The emphasis of social policy shifted from a punitive approach to one of public health , with much greater emphasis placed on users seeking access to treatment programmes, without the fear of arrest or the stigma of receiving a criminal record
  
• this approach is different from that of "de-penalisation" in which the act of using or possessing drugs remains criminal but is rarely punished in practice (an approach taken in part by several EU states especially around cannabis use)
• drug trafficking (defined in Portugeuse law as "possession of more than the average dose for ten days of use") remains a criminal offence in Portugal, punishable by custodial sentences.

The report emphasises that the change in the law in 2001 was aimed strongly at reducing drug use nationally. The evidence after eight years is that the policy is having an effect. The report makes compelling reading and suggests a possible way forward in the issue of public policy on drug misuse.

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Libya Reinvents Itself

Libya - a byword in the 1970s and 80 for the state sponsorship of terrorism - is back in the international fold as the country's President has reinvented himself as Friend of the West.

Libya's reintegration into the diplomatic community of nations has been carefully negotiated and choreographed over the last five years. From abandoning its plans to become a nuclear power to its decision to pay compensation to the victims of the Lockerbie bombing (for which a Libyan agent is in prison and about to launch his second appeal against his conviction), Libya's transformation has been dramatic.

One factor behind this diplomatic goodwill is the opportunity for trade and business. UN sanctions, imposed on the back of the Lockerbie disaster, have been lifted and the flow of inward investment into the oil rich nation has been steadily increasing. Oil reserves under Libya's Saharan sands are put at 45 billion barrels, ranking the country's reserves tenth in the world.

The regime's commitment to develop its energy and other industries is shown in the increasing flow of the country's brightest and best to study overseas at British and American universities. One source has stated that current spending on overseas education of Libyan students totals over $60 million.

Holidays are more accessible than ever. And, inevitably, opportunities are emerging for real estate investment in Libya.

Before becoming too ecstatic, however, it is worth remembering that at present there is no free press in Libya, that human rights activists are routinely arrested and tortured and that no independent organisations are permitted to operate inside the country.

The English-speaking Tripoli Post provides a window into the world of the official Libyan media. Independent bloggers such as Weda from Banghazzi are rare. Several others, including Libyans resident overseas, are listed here.

Unemployment is running at 30% and the country is also a key transit route for the trafficking of drugs from Egypt, Morocco and Turkey into Europe. Libya is also the main springboard for African migrants attempting to sail to Italy. An estimated 100 000 illegal migrants attempt to cross to Italy each year from Libya.

At present, the country is celebrating the 39th anniversary of the revolution that brought Colonel Gadaffi to power. The leader of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (to give the country its official name) took the opportunity last week at a speech in Benghazi to extol the virtues of privatisation, promising sweeping economic reforms and the distribution of oil wealth to its citizens and predicted that Libyan society would "reformulate itself in a new, free, and democratic way". The CIA factbook entry on Libya puts things somewhat more cautiously:

Libya faces a long road ahead in liberalizing the socialist-oriented economy, but initial steps - including applying for WTO membership, reducing some subsidies, and announcing plans for privatization - are laying the groundwork for a transition to a more market-based economy.

Recent visitors to Libya have included Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi, sealing a multi-billion dollar economic package, including the building of a highway across Libya's Mediterranean coast. American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to visit Libya this Friday - the first such visit for over 50 years.

Other international visitors to Libya in recent weeks have included hundreds of tribal chiefs and kings from across Africa who gathered to hear Colonel Gadaffi's vision of pan-African unity and to declare the Libyan ruler to be "king of kings". Clearly, the Colonel's long-standing vision of pan-Arab and pan-African unity remains alive. The formation of the African Union in 1999 is one of the fruits of this vision, though the Libyan leader's idea of a single African currency seems far off at present.

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Drugs and Sport - an Iranian Tale

The assumption in the west, I imagine, is that there are few users of hard drugs inside the Islamic Republic of Iran and that those caught are are routinely beheaded or at least loose a limb.

The experience of Abbas Amir-Mafi, however, tells a quite different story.

Born in the south of Tehran, Abbas was addicted to opium by the age of 12, having started drinking alcohol about age 6. He was until a few years ago one of several hundred thousand drug users in the country, Iran having one of the highest levels of opiate abuse in the world.

After years trying to break free of the addiction, Abbas was put in contact with Congress 60, an Iranian non-profit organisation which uses sport to help addicts. Uniquely among Iran's other drug treatment providers, Congress 60 does not use methadone but advocates instead a gradual reduction of the narcotic alongside a programme of sporting activities to help develop personal and life skills.

Head of the organisation, Engineer Dezhakam (himself a recovering addict) introduced Abbas to archery. "I didn't like it in the beginning," he says. "The daily practice was tough. But I began to see improvement after a month and realized I could do it."

Remarkably, Abbas now competes as part of Iran's national team and says that "I hope one day to compete abroad." He trains for 6-7 hours a day and is drug free. His story raises interesting questions about the opportunities for those who have misused drugs in their past to not only rehabilitate but also to take part in competitive sport at an international level - an issue highlighted in the UK by the recent attempt by Dwain Chambers to overturn the BDA's ban on him participating in the Beijing Olympics this summer.

Over the years, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the Government of Iran has shifted from a predominantly restrictive drug policy toward a strategy that gives importance to demand and harm reduction.

A growing number of NGOs provide treatment and there is a growing level of cooperation with the relevant government ministries.

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