By Pasquale Gianni

LISBON, PORTUGAL—This city is the kind of place that makes you realize the value of travel. Unfortunately, it’s not one of the most frequently visited European cities. For starters, it’s a tourist’s dream, with cheap, excellent food and picturesque beauty. The city is defined by many hills, colorful houses, serene waterfronts and rustic looks.

You’ll also find beautiful old trollies that help move the city through its rugged hills. I took one to the Castel of Sao Jorge, a beautiful medieval Moorish castle perched up with some of the best views in the city.

Like any great city, it has to have equally great food. Lisbon certainly meets the mark on this one. The city is famous for having food halls, and chief among them is the Time Out Food Hall along the coast of the city-center. Here, you can sample the country’s best dishes and beverages.

About 30 different vendors of seafood, meats, sweets, beers, wines, cocktails and inventive dishes are packed with long lines and surround huge communal tables, where patrons fight over open seats to eat and laugh all day long.

Despite the many family friendly tourist attractions in Lisbon, it is tough to walk more than a couple blocks in Lisbon without being asked by a local in a casual manner if you’d like to buy marijuana or cocaine. I was unaware of the details of Portugal’s drug laws, so this was quite shocking to me. The incredibly relaxed attitude led me to do some research, and what I concluded was that maybe (just maybe) the Portuguese are on to something here.
The country decriminalized the usage of common drugs (such as marijuana, heroin, cocaine and ecstasy) in 2001, making it among the few countries in the world to take a progressive approach to drug policy.

The significant decriminalization of all drugs applies to drugs in the amount of a 10 day supply or less. Although the 2001 legislation upheld the illegal status for drug possession, this offense was changed from a criminal malfeasance to an administrative one. This means the drugs are still technically illegal, but those caught with them are typically mandated to attend some treatment programs through public health services that aim to socially reintegrate drug users, opposed to jail time and fines.

In addition, health has become one of the main focuses of the new policy, which is highlighted by a clean-needle program. Yes, heroin addicts can walk into a pharmacy and trade in their used needles for new clean ones, along with a pamphlet indicating where they might be able to receive help for their addiction, at no cost.

In the first 15 years since the law’s inauguration, it has, all in all, proven effective. This is measured by a 17 percent decrease in new HIV infections, as well as a sharp drop in the number of annual drug-related deaths. Moreover, drug usage has roughly stayed the same, not sharply increased as the law’s initial critics had predicted.

The basic reasoning for this is that if someone was not going to use heroin previously, its decriminalization would not stop them from continuing to use. This line of thinking does not acknowledge that drug addiction is personal, and when it comes to the ongoing conversation in the U.S. over marijuana legalization and decriminalization, the 15 year experiment in Portugal may be of use in our debate.

The rough transition from Lisbon being a wonderful and vibrant city to visit to an analysis of its drug laws is not without at least some purpose.

Travel is not just enjoyable, but can open your eyes to the world in more than just a geographical sense. It piques your curiosity. Undoubtedly you will learn new things along the way and leave with a mind more open towards new ideas and cultures.

On one hand I got to see a remarkable city, eat good food, interact with beautiful people and relax on the beach. And on the other, I walked away a more learned person with a new perspective on drug policy. As Henry Miller put it, “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”

is the kind of place that makes you realize the value of travel. Unfortunately, it’s not one of the most frequently visited European cities. For starters, it’s a tourist’s dream, with cheap, excellent food and picturesque beauty. The city is defined by many hills, colorful houses, serene waterfronts and rustic looks.

You’ll also find beautiful old trollies that help move the city through its rugged hills. I took one to the Castel of Sao Jorge, a beautiful medieval Moorish castle perched up with some of the best views in the city.

Like any great city, it has to have equally great food. Lisbon certainly meets the mark on this one. The city is famous for having food halls, and chief among them is the Time Out Food Hall along the coast of the city-center. Here, you can sample the country’s best dishes and beverages.

About 30 different vendors of seafood, meats, sweets, beers, wines, cocktails and inventive dishes are packed with long lines and surround huge communal tables, where patrons fight over open seats to eat and laugh all day long.

Despite the many family friendly tourist attractions in Lisbon, it is tough to walk more than a couple blocks in Lisbon without being asked by a local in a casual manner if you’d like to buy marijuana or cocaine. I was unaware of the details of Portugal’s drug laws, so this was quite shocking to me. The incredibly relaxed attitude led me to do some research, and what I concluded was that maybe (just maybe) the Portuguese are on to something here.
The country decriminalized the usage of common drugs (such as marijuana, heroin, cocaine and ecstasy) in 2001, making it among the few countries in the world to take a progressive approach to drug policy.

The significant decriminalization of all drugs applies to drugs in the amount of a 10 day supply or less. Although the 2001 legislation upheld the illegal status for drug possession, this offense was changed from a criminal malfeasance to an administrative one. This means the drugs are still technically illegal, but those caught with them are typically mandated to attend some treatment programs through public health services that aim to socially reintegrate drug users, opposed to jail time and fines.

In addition, health has become one of the main focuses of the new policy, which is highlighted by a clean-needle program. Yes, heroin addicts can walk into a pharmacy and trade in their used needles for new clean ones, along with a pamphlet indicating where they might be able to receive help for their addiction, at no cost.

In the first 15 years since the law’s inauguration, it has, all in all, proven effective. This is measured by a 17 percent decrease in new HIV infections, as well as a sharp drop in the number of annual drug-related deaths. Moreover, drug usage has roughly stayed the same, not sharply increased as the law’s initial critics had predicted.

The basic reasoning for this is that if someone was not going to use heroin previously, its decriminalization would not stop them from continuing to use. This line of thinking does not acknowledge that drug addiction is personal, and when it comes to the ongoing conversation in the U.S. over marijuana legalization and decriminalization, the 15 year experiment in Portugal may be of use in our debate.

The rough transition from Lisbon being a wonderful and vibrant city to visit to an analysis of its drug laws is not without at least some purpose.
Travel is not just enjoyable, but can open your eyes to the world in more than just a geographical sense. It piques your curiosity. Undoubtedly you will learn new things along the way and leave with a mind more open towards new ideas and cultures.

On one hand I got to see a remarkable city, eat good food, interact with beautiful people and relax on the beach. And on the other, I walked away a more learned person with a new perspective on drug policy. As Henry Miller put it, “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”