Portugal Mayor Supports Recriminalizing Public Drug Use - Filter

Portugal Mayor Supports Recriminalizing Public Drug Use - Filter

Reality intrudes upon ideological fantasy:

"On September 30, Rui Moreira, the mayor of Porto, contradicted his past pro-harm reduction positions, like the ones made at the 2019 Harm Reduction International conference in his own city, when he endorsed reintroducing criminal penalties for drug use in public spaces during a municipal assembly meeting.

"Drug decriminalization 'is not possible,' he said in the meeting, adding that such policies have "consented" to illegal drug trafficking. The mayor expressed he is 'a little tired of hearing just about the dignity' of people who use drugs, adding that the policy of decriminalization 'simply does not protect the overwhelming majority of the population.' To address this problem that he says is 'everywhere,' Rureira is advocating for the installation of over 100 new video surveillance cameras to monitor public streets in an attempt to clamp down on drug use."