Liam Walsh

When Zack Polanski calmly called for the legalisation and regulation of drugs, to move distribution from criminal gangs to the state e.g. the NHS Carole Malone shouted out a number of objections which were mostly based on half truths, outright lies, and misinformation Here are some of the key points of clarification: ➡️ Portugal decriminalised drugs in 2001, there is no evidence that they plan to reverse this ➡️ Individuals caught with drugs are typically referred to a "Dissuasion Commission" composed of social workers, medical professionals, and legal experts, who may recommend treatment or impose fines, but not criminal penalties ➡️ Portugal's example is such a success that other countries are looking to replicate it e.g. Ireland ➡️ Malone was right to say that between 2000 and 2015 there was a 30x increase in hospitalizations associated with cannabis use. But this isn't viewed as a failure of the policy, it has led to evaluating and tweaking the policy for better outcomes ➡️ There is no evidence that decriminalising drugs in Portugal has led to an increase in the number of child deaths. Instead, the 2001 decriminalisation of drugs has led to a decrease in the number of drug related deaths. Before 2001 they had 131, and in 2008 they had 20 ➡️ Portugal's drug death toll was among the lowest in the EU, at 3 per million, compared to the EU average of 17.3 per million ➡️ The Washington Post's July 2023 investigation into Portugal's drug decriminalization policy did not conclude that the approach has failed, but it highlighted emerging challenges e.g. the rise of drug use in tourist areas of Porto, or the underfunding of services to help those on drugs with sometimes year long waits to get help ➡️ The Washington Post credited the policy pointing out that deaths from drug use has dropped significantly, there's a huge drop in HIV transmission from drug use, and it has reduced the number of people jailed for drug-related offences ➡️ The King’s College London report Malone referred to does indeed refer to the dangers of drugs, but it refers to the dangers of illicit and illegal drugs in the UK, and not the impact of drugs in countries where drug use has been legalised, like in Portugal ➡️ Malone claimed that drug scams through airports are on the rise in countries where drug use is legal as people do not want to pay tax on their drug use. Trafficking drugs through any airport remains illegal. And in the case of Portugal, there has not been an increase in drugs taken through airports to avoid paying domestic drug taxes Zack Polanski remained calm and composed throughout Carole Malone's repeated shouty interruptions. It's as if she was trying to cover up the poor use of information to get an ideological point across with the brashness I would like to think that Carole Malone, like Zack Polanski, and most people would like to see drug use drop to improve people's lives in society. On that much we can probably agree. But as this one exchange showed, you can either use data and facts to make your point, or you can shout over other people spewing misinformation. The latter may appear more sincere because of the expressed emotion, but it's really the former that will lead to and drive meaningful change