This is a myth that is endlessly repeated and will apparently never die. If you are caught possessing illegal drugs in Portugal, you are required to go in front a disciplinary tribunal that can mandate drug rehab and impose fines. If you refuse to attend rehab, they can jail you. They can impose a whole host of other legal consequences, including loss of professional license, passport, they can mandate that you're not allowed to hang out with certain people, etc. Drug dealing is still 'lock you up in jail' illegal.

Saying drugs are decriminalized in Portugal is like saying speeding everywhere is decriminalized. They moved legal sanctions to an administrative court, but they're still sanctions. I invite you to read this whole page

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_policy_of_Portugal#Laws_a...

I think your misunderstanding stems from the definition of "decriminalized". Decriminalized does not mean legal. As it is commonly used "speeding everywhere" is, in fact, decriminalized, in that you will not land in prison for it, and the penalty is merely a fine, and maybe some driver's school if you're a repeat offender.

This is greatly preferable to the alternative.

It's not a crime to consume, but it's still illegal. Drugs weren't legalised, they were decriminalised.

As you can see here (https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/lei/30-2000-599720) it explicitly says, in Portuguese law, that drug consumption was decriminalised. (Just search for "descriminalização".)

Yeah, that's it.

We have a working model that has provided stunning results for decades. Even back in 2001, there was a strong scientific basis for decriminalization, and treating drug use as a public health issue rather than a moral one.

With the sharp rise in opiate and fentanyl recently, it's alarming how backward the conversation still is. It's almost as if shadowy powerful forces are real content with prohibition...

Radical measures are necessary, now, just as they were in 2001 in Portugal. People are dying, families are being torn apart, and it's all so heart-breakingly unnecessary.