LETTER | Drug abuse and the deaths that often result are complicated phenomena with many underlying causes. In Malaysia, drug abuse has led to an alarming increase of social ills like HIV/Aids contraction, crime and more which have resulted in the collapse of the moral fibre of the nation.

The medical and psychological effects of addiction are obvious, as addicts cannot function as normal members of society. They neglect or abuse their families, and eventually require expensive treatment or hospitalisation. The issue of drug or substance abuse in Malaysia is a worsening problem, duly acknowledged by the Director of Universiti Sains Malaysia Centre for Drug Research, Professor B Vicknasingam earlier this year.

Despite the 2010-2014 financial crisis and great recession faced by Portugal, the couuntry makes for an important case study was it had decriminalised the use of all drugs 16 years ago in 2001 and now, hardly anyone dies from overdosing. The country has three overdose deaths per million citizens when compared to the average of 17.3 in the European Union.

Portugal's low death rate cannot be attributed solely to decriminalisation. Dr Joao Goulao, the architect of the Portugal's decriminalisation policy has said that "it's very difficult to identify a causal link between decriminalisation by itself and the positive tendencies we have seen."

In 2001, Portugal decided to treat possession and use of small quantities of these drugs as a public health issue and not a criminal one. The drugs were still considered illegal. But now getting caught with them only meant a small fine and maybe a referral to a treatment program — not jail time and a criminal record.

Hence, it's very clear that decriminalisation has not had the severe consequences that its opponents predicted. In its analysis of Portugal's drug laws, the Transform Drug Policy Institute found that "the reality is that Portugal’s drug situation has improved significantly in several key areas. Most notably, HIV infections and drug-related deaths have decreased, while the dramatic rise in use feared by some has failed to materialise."

As many national legislatures debate with issues like marijuana legalisation and decriminalisation in the coming years, Portugal's 15-year experience may be informative and certainly could be a shining example in nurturing Malaysia’s effective countermeasures to dangerous narcotics.

As an advocate and solicitor, I have had the golden opportunity of being the counsel for substance abusers and drug offenders of various ethnic groups and truly find a discernible need for the advocacy and implementation of a critically transformed drug policy.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.