We know how prohibition ended up. We also know that in other countries where quasi-legalization has been tried the usage rate stayed about the same.
'Then they started treating drug use more like a parking ticket. People caught with drugs get a slap on the wrist, sometimes a fine.
'Independent studies have found the number of people in Portugal who say they regularly do drugs stayed about the same. And the best news, said Goulao: "Addiction itself decreased a lot."
'At first, police were skeptical of the law, but Joao Figueira, chief inspector of Lisbon's drug unit, told me that decriminalization changed lots of minds.
'"The level of conflicts on the street are reduced. Drug-related robberies are reduced. And now the police are not the enemies of the consumers!"
'And teen drug use is down.'