Belgium's national drugs commissioner would like to follow Portugal's example
In an interview on Radio 1, police commissioner Ine Van Wymersch, a former prosecutor, has advocated decriminalizing the possession and use of illegal drugs, with the aim of a curative approach to drug users instead of repressive measures.
The Portuguese success: from heroin epidemic to dramatic crime drop
In the late 1990s, Portugal suffered a heroin epidemic, which led to an alarming increase in HIV infections, drug deaths and related crime.
The Portuguese government took a bold step by no longer treating drug users as criminals, but as patients.
Since decriminalization in 2001, the number of heroin users has fallen dramatically, as have crime rates and fatal overdoses.
