system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why did Portugal's drug addiction rate halve after drug decriminalization instead of increasing?
gpt
Decriminalization is not the same thing as legalization. You still can't sell it in a store or anything.

But if you are addicted to heroin and it's a criminal offense, it's terrifying and difficult to get help. If it is a non-criminal offense, it's relatively easy to get help without police threatening to jail you unless you rat out your friends.

So more people get treatment, more people can openly talk about their negative experiences with a drug, and more people can be aware that they need to avoid it.

Punishment is emotionally satisfying to human beings, but it is incredibly rare that it makes any situation better.