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With Mexico being increasingly rapidly and increasing visibly crushed by its war on drugs, some politicians in Mexico and the United States have dared to suggest that decriminalization is the answer.
According to these politicians, decriminalization would allow governments to switch their focus from supply reduction to demand reduction, and to redirect funds away from law enforcement and toward treatment. The end result, they argue, would be a reduction in the harms caused by substance use.
Advocates of criminalization suggest the opposite would occur. Decriminalization would send the message that drug use is acceptable, they argue, thereby leading to an increase in use and drug-related harms.
The trouble with these arguments, which we've heard a million times, is that they take place in an empirical vacuum. Given the lack of empirical evidence, we're left to speculate about the effects of decriminalization and, since it might lead to greater harm, many people are persuaded that it's best to leave bad enough alone.
The trouble with this is that empirical evidence does exist. Although it seems to be the world's best-kept secret, Portugal formally decriminalized possession of all illicit drugs in 2001. And its experiment has provided us with a wealth of empirical evidence about the positive effects of decriminalization.
According to American cons
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