points to 50% (Figure 1). However, as shown in Figure 2, between 1998 and 2016 the percentage of persons who have used marijuana in the last 12 months fell from its high of 17.90% in 1998 to10.4% in 2016. The country also saw a switching of the uptake timing from adulthood to adolescent [4]. Other decriminalization efforts essentially returned a similar outcome, indicating that the policy does not lead to any significant increase in marijuana use and the price of the product. Figure 2: Use of Marijuana in the last 12 Months, persons age 14 and older in Australia (1990-
2016) Source: National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) 2016, Key Findings, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare[11].
Accidents and other Legal Consequences An important part of the new legal framework regarding marijuana and all other such drugs in Portugal was the introduction of a referral system where persons found in possession of drugs, including marijuana, by the police, are referred to a panel of three persons made up of social workers, legal counselors, and medical personnel. The number of persons referred to this panel can serve as a proxy of the number of persons found in possession of drugs by the police. Data from 2001 to 2005 show that as a percentage of the total of drug possession referrals, 47% of these were referred for being in possession of marijuana (Figure 3). By 2002 and 2003, one and two years after decriminalization, respectively, that figure had increased 10 percentage points in each year of 57% and 67%, respectively. During the period, only heroin possession experienced a decrease, while cocaine possession rose one percentage point between 2001 and 2005. Moreover, a 2016 report states that since decriminalization, the number of persons arrested for drug-related offences fell by 60% [12]. Meanwhile, “the number of people arrested and sent to criminal courts for drug law violations declined by more than half after decriminalization. The percentage of people in Portugal’s prison system for drugs also decreased by about half, from 44 percent in 1999 to 21 percent in 2008� [13].
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