APDES: la prohibición de los euforizantes legales en Portugal está condenada al fracaso

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APDES: la prohibición de los euforizantes legales en Portugal está condenada al fracaso

28 mayo 2013

La organización APDES se posiciona en contra de la reciente prohibición de los euforizantes legales en Portugal, señalando que un enfoque prohibicionista solo incrementará la escala del mercado clandestino de este tipo de sustancias. Más información, en inglés, está disponible abajo.

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On the 17th of April last year, Portugal implemented a law banning any commercial activity related to so-called New Psychoactive Substances (NPS). The regulations created an interim table, initially listing about 160 substances (phenethylamines, tryptamines, cathinones, synthetic cannabinoids and some plants). Within this legal framework, trading listed NPS is deemed to be a misdemeanor, with offenders subject to a fine. Listed substances, if proven toxic within a maximum period of 18 months, pass on to the definitive criminal table. During this time, fines can go up to € 3,740 in the case of individuals and € 44,890 in the case of legal persons.

Possession of substances for consumption comes under the same legal framework as other types of illegal substances, given that drug use is decriminalised in Portugal. To avoid the black market becoming the sole destination for the substances already in circulation, the government has announced a 15-day "amnesty": During this period, anyone can go to the nearest police station and hand in any substances they have, without fear of prosecution. Traders tried to get around this with marketing ploys: In the days leading up to the ban, the largest distribution chain of NPS in Portugal announced deals such as "two for the price of one”, in order to off-load stock.

Read here the full article.

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