And of course, in both countries, anything beyond small-scale growing and sale of marijuana (much less the production and sale of what they call "hard drugs") remains illegal and subject to active prosecution.
"Non-prosecution under certain conditions" is what decriminalization is generally understood to mean.
Portugal has decriminalized possession, and the Netherlands has a policy of non-prosecution for possession. But even in the U.S. mere possession is rarely punished with prison time (much less extended sentences and 3-strikes penalties): http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/america-tonight/ame.... And when it comes to things other than possession, the Netherlands does prosecute. The Netherlands conducts about 5,000 marijuana raids every year: http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/america-tonight/ame....
I'm not being merely pedantic. In my opinion, pointing out that Portugal and the Netherlands "legalized drugs" isn't just technically inaccurate, it's a red herring. The real problem is our law enforcement's over-the-top militarism and brutal penalties across-the-board. Law enforcement in the Netherlands doesn't choke people to death for selling untaxed cigarettes--that doesn't mean the problem in the U.S. is that selling untaxed cigarettes is illegal. The real story isn't that Portugal has decriminalized drug possession and why can't we be like that.[1] It's that Portugal rarely even enforces prison sentences under 5 years! Why can't we be like that?
When there's a thing that "everybody knows", but that thing is wrong, it's hard not to continue to correct it every time you see it misreported.
Again, this is my guess, I'm not rayiner.