April 2, 2009 12:33PM # New Study: ‘Drug Decriminalization in Portugal’ By Cato Editors --- SHARE On July 1, 2001, a nationwide law in Portugal took effect that decriminalized all drugs, including cocaine and heroin. Drug possession for personal use and drug usage itself are still legally prohibited, but violations of those prohibitions are deemed to be exclusively administrative violations and are removed completely from the criminal realm. In [a new study](https://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10080), constitutional lawyer and Salon​.com writer [Glenn Greenwald](http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/) examines the Portuguese model and the data concerning drug-related trends in Portugal, and argues that, “judged by virtually every metric, the Portuguese decriminalization framework has been a resounding success.” Greenwald will [speak at the Cato Institute](https://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=5887) Friday, April 3, about the success of the decriminalization program. \[ipaper docId=13784156 access\_key=key-1b7m6y33q9et1f73i1st height=600 width=500 /\] ##### Related Tags [General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).