Former acting White House Drug Czar, says that the U.S. can learn a lot from Portugal’s decision to decriminalize and treat drug addiction as a medical issue using a harm-reduction approach.
Regina LaBelle was a top official in the Office of National Drug Control Policy under both the Obama and Biden Administrations. She wrote an op/ed published on The Hill Wednesday that praised Portugal’s successful move to decriminalize drug use and argued that the U.S. could learn from Portugal.
She wrote, “Portugal has taken a leading approach to its drug problem and implemented a comprehensive drug policy based on public health.” This included decriminalizing personal drug possession, while maintaining criminal sanctions for drug trafficking. Portugal was facing a heroin epidemic and the highest HIV infection rate in the European Union at the time.
She said that Portugal’s drug policy had yielded positive outcomes, with drug overdose deaths among the lowest in Europe.
Although the ONDCP, under Biden’s leadership, supported the administration’s efforts in promoting harm reduction policies as well as praised the president’s directive on reviewing the scheduling status for marijuana it has not supported calls to decriminalize all drugs. It’s interesting that the former acting drug czar has taken the lead in promoting the reform.
LaBelle, , who did not embrace decriminalization of drugs while working in the federal government said, “Portugal’s experience shows that a comprehensive approach to public health can have positive results and save lives.”
Latest in The Hill – The US can learn from Portugal’s drug policy experience https://t.co/QYOa90LUzZ
— Regina LaBelle July 12 2023
She also responded in The Washington Post to a recent article that questioned the notion that Portugal’s model of decriminalization was successful. Reform advocates have criticized the reporting.
LaBelle is the director of the Addiction and Public Policy Initiative of Georgetown University Law Center’s O’Neill Institute. She said that this report “only serves as an emphasis on one of these lessons, Consistent funding for sustained, long-term effects is essential.” She then offered three key lessons from Portugal which could benefit the United States.
Reform advocates often repeat the same refrain: treat addiction as a public-health issue, not a criminal-legal one.
She said that the U.S. had made progress in recognising substance use disorder and reforming its drug policies. However, the rise of fentanyl as an opioid in the drug supply prompted a renewed focus on criminalization.
LaBelle’s second lesson is that “substantial funding should be provided to public health services including treatment and harm-reduction” like syringe swap programs, to help reduce the spread and transmission of diseases.
She wrote, “The U.S. is in a unique position right now to invest in public health solutions that will last for a long time, thanks to the proceeds of opioid litigation and federal grants.” According to a 2014 study, $1 spent on treatment can save more than $3 by reducing crime. But long-term solutions are more than just grants or short-term injections of litigation proceeds.
Third, the country should make “robust investments in data collection and reporting”, so it can understand what works and what doesn’t when it comes to addressing the overdose epidemic.
She said that the U.S. could improve its response to overdose crises by embracing reform and remaining committed to it. It is time to take decisive action toward a more compassionate, public-health-focused approach to drug policies. It is time to take decisive steps toward a more compassionate and public health-centered approach to drug policy. We can save lives and improve outcomes by doing this.
LaBelle, a former member of a state medical marijuana advisory board, was a leading candidate when President Joe Biden sought to fill the position of ONDCP Director. However, Rahul Gupta ended up being chosen by the president.
Gupta didn’t comment directly on the idea that decriminalization should be implemented in the U.S. but he promoted the harm reduction efforts of the administration, including a evaluation of safe drug consumption centers, to reduce overdose deaths.
Nora Volkow is the director of NIDA, the National Institute on Drug Abuse. She said that in 2021, the current policy of criminalizing drug users needs to be reconsidered. She suggested that instead the government should consider a decriminalization policy.
She said, that when it comes the war on drugs there is no need to do further research in order to prove that this criminalization has disproportionately affected communities of color.
The American Pharmacists Association officially backed decriminalization for all drugs, paraphernalia and drug reform advocates.
The American Society of Addiction Medicine , which historically has aligned with prohibitionists and opposed modest marijuana reforms , called in February for the decriminalization of currently illicit drugs , in the interests of public health, and racial equality.
The Minnesota Medical Association (MMA) is another major medical group that has recently endorsed the decriminalization of drugs and expungement for low-level drug possession.
A top Republican North Carolina lawmaker signals that the medical marijuana bill is likely to be dead for the year
Former White House Drug Official Says U.S. The post Former top White House drug official says U.S.
