It's not working - <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/07/portugal-drugs-decriminalization-heroin-crack/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/07/portugal-dru...</a><p>The entire Jacobin article only focused on if less addicts die it is a "working" policy, but it resulted in significantly more people now hooked on drugs in those decriminalized places than before. How is that a positive that more individuals are now subject to a destroyed life?<p>Also ignores the destruction of the community and the increased violence they face since the police can no longer arrest these individuals and they have become much more brazen. In my city where it certainly isn't decriminalized the police refused to arrest people camped out smoking meth in train stations to the point that many people refused to take transit. Numerous times I had to walk through a cloud of meth smoke to get out of the station because there was zero repercussions for open drug use. Open fencing, people getting robbed, stepping on needles, and random attacks.<p>By almost all metrics hard drug decriminalization is a failure.