In Portugal, by contrast, government data shows roughly 90% of people referred to drug counseling sessions by police do turn up, at least for an initial session.
Why?
This is quite different to giving someone an information card.
For what it's worth there is increasing problems in Portugal with drugs. The overdose rate is starting to really spike again, there was a good article somewhat recently about this which I can't find, but you can see the trend here: https://www.statista.com/statistics/911927/drug-overdose-dea...
From 50 deaths skyrocketing up to 70 deaths. This is the kind of spike the US dreams about.
The stats you link to do a pretty good job of countering the pORtIgaL iS ON dRUg FIrE narrative.
When compared with the rest of Europe, Portugal has a fairly low incidence of drug deaths.
However, I think it is still a big and growing problem regardless of where you sit on that spectrum, which has sharply been brought into focus with fentanyl and other synthetic opioids (which are themselves a byproduct of 'the war on drugs' in many ways, but the genie is out of the bottle now with them).
I found the article I was meaning to find - https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/07/portugal-dru...
If you think of it nobody bothers with alcohol consumption but if you have an accident under the influence of alcohol it is pretty reasonable the judge prescribes AAA participation, instead of just punishing you. Failure to do so can then lead to the judge finding you guilty on more severe charges like involuntary manslaughter or just plain contempt. Of course crimes related to heavy drugs are often much more severe so if you don’t play nice you will go to jail and not come out for some time. Portuguese prisons are also overbooked and known for being very miserable.
Perhaps this one?
Once hailed for decriminalizing drugs, Portugal is now having doubts - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36638752 - Jul 2023 (638 comments)
One of the issues is that when the number of drug addicts was significantly reduced, we saw investment in the programs being reduced year on year.
This tells you the effort against drugs never ends.
I believe this is now being re-evaluated by the Portuguese authorities (returning budget to these programs). It’s a lot more effort than one thinks to ensure the correct support at every stage.
Maybe related, maybe not, but I've noticed that people in the US seem to have a chronic distrust for the police, government, or generally any authority figure. Do you agree? In Portugal if you're asked to go talk to police/gov/drug counseling/etc, you show up because that's what you're supposed to do.
That's a very famous quote by one of our presidents. Like all other American pathologies that have festered since I was a child, I assume it will get worse before it gets worse.
But its easier to just hate on it and get the government you deserve.
The native Portuguese feel that it's not ok to consume drugs, but that for those that do, the law provides a path of rehabilitation before resorting to punishment. And this is in fact the intention behind the decriminalization of drug consumption.
On the other hand, younger foreigners often seem to take the laws as a license to consume, some becoming unable to work and spending their days smoking pot. And their older counterparts similarly fall into alcoholism, wine and beer being very cheap here.
My point is that Portuguese laws are made for Portuguese people, who tend to do things in moderation. There is no universal solution, and no guarantee that the Portuguese model would work anywhere else.