Pot Legalization Can Lead to “More Use Less Abuse” Effect, Study Says

Drug decriminalization or liberalization is not a new thing in the world but when a Vancouver clinic was reported to be giving out free heroin to addicts for years, many have reacted violently. The small clinic, however, defends its stand that harm reduction is better than law enforcement when it comes to helping the addicts to get off drugs.

The Providence Crosstown Clinic in Vancouver has been into solving drug addiction through giving free heroin for several years, says CBC. For the record, this clinic is the only one in North America where addicts get actual heroin. Such pattern is said to be more effective at reducing crime and also saving money for the health care system, CBC further reports.

It has not been so long since the Portugal leader also made noise in the gathering at United Nations in April because of the same issue with liberalization of drugs. Nevertheless, it has been 16 years already that Portugal has decriminalized the possession of all drugs from marijuana to heroin, and the effect is very positive.

"The rate of new HIV infections in Portugal has fallen precipitously since 2001, the year its law took effect, declining from 1,016 cases to only 56 in 2012. Overdose deaths decreased from 80 the year that decriminalization was enacted to only 16 in 2012. In the US, by comparison, more than 14,000 people died in 2014 from prescription opioid overdoses alone. Portugal's current drug-induced death rate, three per million residents, is more than five times lower than the European Union's average of 17.3, according to EU figures," Vice News reports.

If one goes to Portugal, it will be hard to see people not in favor of the liberalization of drugs, Vice News added. It was a good thing in Portugal, and the talk about having the model applied to America or any other country was loud that time. Nonetheless, many still do not like the idea.

More Americans have been using marijuana recently, but reports say that the number of abuse has decreased, Washington Post confirms. "With changes in medical marijuana laws and, in particular, state laws or policies allowing limited access to low percentages of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or cannabidiol (CBD), persons who use marijuana daily for medical reasons might be using strains that pose lower risk for dependence or abuse," CDC reports.

With the "more use, less abuse" soon-to-be policy, is it possible for America to totally make hard drugs legal? Will it be worth it?