Drug Decriminalization and Harm Reduction in Portugal: Can policy innovation overcome stigma?

Abstract

This study compares the attitudes of Portuguese residents with three other European countries and the Europe-wide trend to ask if the Portuguese model of drug decriminalization policy of de jure decriminalization in 2000 and critical harm reduction measures has had an impact on stigma against drug users and drug use. This study uses the responses to two sets of questions from the European Values Survey (EVS): "On this list are various groups of people. Could you please sort out any that you would not like to have as neighbours?" and "Please tell me for each of the following whether you think it can always be justified, never be justified, or something in between, using this card." For "Neighbours," seven responses were selected: drug addicts, heavy drinkers, those with a criminal record, people with AIDS, emotionally unstable people, people of a different race, and homosexuals. For "Justified," five responses were selected: soft drugs (marijuana or hashish), homosexuality, prostitution, abortion, and divorce. While Portugal had the lowest negative response rate for "Neighbor: Drug Addict," it had the highest negative response rate for "Justifiable: Soft Drugs," higher than the Europe-wide percentage. These seemingly contradictory results could be interpreted as Portuguese respondents believing that drug use is not acceptable, but that drug addiction does not make someone an undesirable member of the community. This is consistent with the current understanding of Portugal's shift in perception of drug use, and suggests a shift in type of stigma rather than an elimination of it entirely.