Issue project

 In my piece I want to focus on addiction. Addiction affects many people and their loved ones. Society tends to be cruel to addicts. People are quick to judge them and their actions and don’t understand that addiction is a disease and addicts are still people. It’s also very hard for addicts to get the help they need. Rehab can be very expensive and it’s easy for addicts to end up in jail or prison where they won’t receive help and it is extremely hard to find jobs and integrate back into society after which makes it more likely they will go back to drugs and be stuck in this cycle. Unlike the U.S. where addiction is treated like a criminal problem, Portugal has found a solution to their drug crisis that is working. In 2001 Portugal was the first country to decriminalize the possession of all drugs for personal use. They’ve made it so people found with drugs will learn about treatment options. They have facilities that users can go to to safely use drugs with supervision from trained staff. Evidence shows that these sites save lives.