The Narco News Bulletin

"The name of our country is América"

-- Simón Bolívar

Portugal Decriminalizes!

Historic Vote at End of Parliament Session

Alliance by all political parties on the Left made it happen

Legislators promise, in September, when Parliament reconvenes, to pass a policy that distributes heroin to addicts and provides safe rooms

Agence France-Press (AFP) Reports:

"Consumption of Drugs is Decriminalized in Portugal"

Translation by The Narco News Bulletin

LISBON, Portugal, July 6, 2000 (AFP) -- The Portuguese Congress adopted on thursday night, in the final hours of the parliamentary session, a project of governmental law about the decriminalization of the consumption and possession of drugs.

The bill was adopted by all the parties of the Left, the governing Socialist Party, the Communist Party and its ecologist allies, and the "Left Block" (of the extreme left).

The right wing blocks, the Social Democratic Party and the Center of Social Democrats/Popular Party, voted against.

The consumption of drugs and the posession of intoxicants for personal use continue being prohibited but have stopped being a crime, instead becoming an "illicit act of social order" that is punished civilly (not criminally).

Drug consumers will be able to be punished by paying fines, of which they will be able to avoid if they accept treatment for their addiction.

The new law maintains the repression of the production and traffic of drugs.

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More details from Narco News:

1. This is the first time in history that left-wing parties have united behind drug decriminalization.

2. The conservative Social Democratic Party tried to stop the law with ads in five major dailies. Obviously, their efforts to bring public opinion pressure upon parliament failed.

3. Parliament then went on leave until September. The Left Bloc has announced that, then, it will propose additional law for the government to supply heroin to addicts and "cold rooms" for their use.

4. This signals the beginning, in Europe, of opposition to the US-imposed "Plan Colombia" military actions and strongly places the question of repeal of drug prohibition on the international and Latin American agendas as well. Look for this movement to spread to other European parliaments and to Brazil.


"It was agreed that in relation to drug addicts, a fine system will no longer be applied, a sick person should not be compelled to pay a fine. He should instead be supported under the best possible circumstances".

-- Left Bloc Deputy Francisco Louçã

This Just In from a White House news correspondent who read our story:

"By the way, this announcement comes just weeks after Clinton visited Lisbon during the annual EU-US summit. Was Clinton blindsided, or just blind?"

nesta festa do santisimo sacramento