That article actually tells me very little about what has happened in Portugal. It appears to be an opinion piece, giving only a very limited number of facts in support of a specific opinion.
Portugal did not legalize drugs; it changed how drug addicts are processed in the legal system.
I question how the number of 100,000 addicts was derived, and I question the number of 40,000 being treated. If we accept the premise of the article, that this represents a decrease of 60,000, then what happened to that 60,000? Did they all OD?
But since I don't accept the premise of the article, I have to ask other questions. How effective is the treatment--where are the studies of immediate efficacy, and long-term recovery? If treatment is so successful, then why are there still 40,000 in treatment ten years after deciding to shunt drug abusers into treatment programs rather than the criminal justice system? If that 40,000 is an annual number, then 400,000 total have been treated, when the original number was only 100,000 addicts. That means either that drug abuse has increased 4 fold since Portugal started its experiment with decriminalization, or that those original 100,000 addicts are repeat customers at the treatment centers (either way, the treatment option isn't working).
Remember Whitney Houston? Fantastic singer. Drug abuser. Went through rehab at least once. Died of an overdose.
Maybe you could do your own research before you post an opinion. It’s not my job to inform you but you might want to inform yourself before you come out n favor of billions down a police-state rathole, destruction of the Constitution, a paramilitary police force, the growths of the alphabet soup agencies and filling the prisons with a lot of non-violent “felons” Do you really think this is working?
Just a thought.