The Conflict

In Europe of the early 2000s there is widespread belief that the United States-led "War on Drugs" has been a failure. There have been two opposing European models of handling narcotics issues: the strict criminal treatment of drug users and traffickers that has been adopted by Sweden, and the decriminalization of "soft" drugs such as cannabis in the Netherlands. In 2001 Portugal decriminalized the use of both "soft" and "hard" (heroin, cocaine, opium) drugs. Enforcement of any drug policy demands cooperation on an international basis, but particularly among the European Union nations, which are divided on which policy is the best to follow.

Political

• Within the country of Portugal there is disagreement on the issue of drug policy. Those who are for decriminalizing drugs believe that drug addiction and...