Breaking the Taboo Page #4

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the anti-drug campaigns claimed that

drugs destroyed

the human being.

But once you try drugs you say:

"Dude! I feel great!"

Once that happens, young people

question everything they've ever heard.

They realize that there is

a lot of hypocrisy in these campaigns

that are usually run by people

who've never tried drugs.

They have a moralistic and

conservative message

and think they'll actually

influence people. They won't.

"TV Anti-Drug Campaign"

All drugs may be harmful.

Heroin, cocaine and crack

can have devastating effects.

But in some cases, it depends.

Take alcohol, for example.

If you drink at a party and drive

a car you may kill or be killed.

If you wake up every morning

and smoke marijuana

you may experience serious

psychological damage.

I think the best way

I can contribute here

is to speak about

my own experience.

I tried every drug available

in my time...

Except heroin.

Cocaine had no effect on me.

I kept trying more and more.

And then it finally made me high.

Once I had just finished

a great night out in New York.

I was looking down on 8th street with

my beautiful girlfriend asleep, naked.

It was early morning

and I couldn't sleep.

I had no desire to make love.

I said to myself:

"I'm quitting".

I'm quitting because this drug

will trap me.

It will hook and destroy me. "

The devil's drug.

It's hard to talk openly

about drugs

and this is part of the problem.

I've taken drugs.

And this sounds weird.

It sounds as if I'm admitting

to a crime. How terrible.

I used to keep a few marijuana

plants in my garden.

When I say,

"I've done drugs",

I feel like a Presidential candidate

making a confession.

Young people do drugs because

they're forbidden.

It's a way of saying

"I am not conforming to society. "

It is a part of their rebellion.

But this window

of youth is critical.

That is why you have to be truthful

in your approach.

You can't lie to kids

and tell them that drugs kill.

Because after smoking a joint

and getting high,

he'll think we lied.

Instead, he'll turn to his friend

who will tell him that crack

is even better.

This leads to two problems:

First, as the pleasure goes down

you have to increase

the dosage.

And what does this dependency

result in?

That you spend the rest

of your life looking for drugs.

The greatest danger of drug is that they

destroy the most important thing in life:

The power to decide.

The most precious thing in life

is the power to choose.

Do you want this

or do you want that?

It is important to be upfront

and honest about drugs.

This is what should be said:

"Drugs are really great,

but be careful,

for you'll no longer be able

to make decisions for yourself.

This is all you need to say.

"Gregory Lannes

Entrepreneur"

"New York, USA"

"Howard Josepher - Founder of the

Exponents Rehabilitation Clinic"

"Lisbon, Portugal"

Portugal decriminalized

the use of all drugs.

By avoiding the criminal system

and eliminating the risks

of users going to prison,

they made it easier for addicts

to seek treatment in hospitals.

The result was very positive.

"Joao Goulao President of the European

Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drugs Addiction"

In Portugal, decriminalization

does not mean depenalization.

There is still a clear disapproval

towards drug consumption.

But the stigma attached to dealing

with the problem through criminal law

was eliminated.

"Toxicological Board

Hearing of a user receiving treatment"

This afternoon in Lisbon

was a remarkable experience.

We witnessed a group hearing

for a person caught with heroin.

I was a hard heroin user

and the police found heroin on me.

I was placed in the Taipas clinic

and started treatment.

I've been 100% clean

for five months.

The records of this hearing

are confidential.

The majority of drug dependents

want to get rid of their addiction.

Without the risk of incarceration,

it's easier to seek treatment.

This alternative allows people

to come to grips with their problem.

"Taipas Clinic"

- This is a treatment clinic?

- This is the therapy facility.

- What is the cost of the treatment?

- It's free.

- Entirely for free?

- Yes, free of charge.

"Dr. Miguel Vasconcelos

Clinic coordinator"

- I believe it is cheaper to treat people...

- Than sending them to jail.

"Manoel Pizarro

Portugal's Health Minister"

I think that by decriminalizing drugs

we enabled drug dependents

to come forward

and seek medical help.

Society began to talk much more

openly about a very serious issue

affecting several families,

but which has always been taboo.

That is the key point.

Ten years later, what do we see?

Our youth consume fewer illegal drugs.

"Portugal

Since Decriminalization:"

"HIV-AIDS rates among all users

have gone down"

"Teenage drug use

has gone down"

"And marijuana consumption rates are

amongst the lowest in the European Union. "

"Rio de Janeiro, Brazil"

Mr. President, is legalization

a possible solution for the drug issue?

As was the case of tobacco

and alcohol?

Is decriminalization the same

thing as legalization? It is not.

"Decriminalize

To abolish the imposition

of criminal penalties in relation

to certain acts and behaviors"

People tend to confuse both terms.

They mean different things.

Nobody can seriously talk

of liberalizing the use of drugs.

Society needs rules, limits.

To legalize is to give legal

access to.

To decriminalize means that those

who use drugs won't go to jail.

But they can be punished.

In Portugal, there are penalties

but people are not criminally prosecuted.

They are not sent to prison.

A law may or may not be

complied with.

For a sociologist like me, the key

issue is not that the law exists

but that it is complied with. This

requires a change in people's mindsets.

I must be honest: I'm not sure

what is the best option here.

But I'm convinced that the road

we're currently on is the wrong one.

So what steps should we take?

Mr President, our country

is not ready for legalization.

"Whashington Rimas

Conflict mediator for Afroreggae"

I think our country needs more education,

social and cultural development.

"Swiss Teenagers"

It may be easier to find drugs

if they're legalized.

But it'll not be as cool to smoke

a reefer if it's legal.

As soon as we have a more

avant-garde attitude towards drug use,

when we finally see it's worth

changing the rules for one type of drug,

I think it definitely has

to be for marijuana.

Pot causes less addiction.

We should try to regulate it

and learn from trial and error.

We especially need to learn how

to convince children

that they shouldn't

use drugs at all.

Marijuana accounts for 80%

of drug use today.

It's as harmful as, or perhaps

even less harmful than alcohol.

It makes sense to regulate

the use of marijuana.

Regulation enables society

to set limits and conditions.

In so doing, the police will be free

to focus on the true enemy:

Organized crime.

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