Seattle has erupted into chaos under its new ultra-woke mayor as a police order allows drug users to avoid prosecution in the city plagued by crime and homelessness. Democratic socialist Katie Wilson, 43, was sworn in as the city's 58th mayor on Friday. Effective immediately, all charges related to drug possession and/or drug use will be diverted from prosecution to the LEAD program,' Barnes wrote in the New Year's Day message reviewed by the Daily Mail. 'All instances of drug use or possession will be referred to Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) - a program designed to redirect low-level offenders in King County from the criminal justice system into supportive social services.' Barnes wrote that if drug offenders refuse to comply with LEAD, prosecutors can then intervene. www.dailymail.co.uk
Republicans oppose programs like this, even though they are more effective and cost less money than locking people in jail.
Here's how it went in Portugal:
Portugal's drug decriminalization policy, implemented in 2001, has led to significant public health and societal improvements. The reform decriminalized the personal possession of all drugs, treating it as an administrative offense rather than a criminal one, which means it no longer results in imprisonment or a criminal record.
Instead, individuals found with a personal supply are referred to local commissions composed of legal, health, and social work professionals, known as 'Commissions for the Dissuasion of Drug Addiction', which assess the level of risk and recommend appropriate actions such as suspension, brief interventions, or referrals to treatment.
One of the most notable outcomes has been a dramatic reduction in drug-related harms. Overdose deaths dropped from 369 in 1999 to just 30 in 2016, and by 2019, Portugal's drug death rate was 6 per million among people aged 15"64, significantly lower than the EU average of 23.7 per million.
The rate of new HIV diagnoses due to injecting drug use plummeted from 907 in 2000 to 18 in 2017, and the number of new cases of hepatitis B and C infections among people who use drugs also declined sharply.
These improvements are attributed not only to decriminalization but also to the expansion of harm reduction services, including needle exchange programs and access to treatment.
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