Q&A: Could Portugal’s drug reforms work in the UK?

The Liberal Democrats have confirmed that their 2015 election manifesto will contain radical proposals for drug policy reform. Many of the measures echo the approach taken in Portugal, where a policy of decriminalisation was put into practice in 2001.

Drugs policy expert Susanne MacGregor from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine explains what reforms like these would mean for the UK.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Drug policy profiles: Portugal http://www.europeansources.info/record/drug-policy-profiles-portugal/

Wikipedia: Drug policy of Portugal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_policy_of_Portugal

Spiegel Online International, 27.03.13: 'This Is Working': Portugal, 12 Years after Decriminalizing Drugs http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/evaluating-drug-decriminalization-in-portugal-12-years-later-a-891060.html

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