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"
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.
-------------------------------
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