Drug Decriminalization in Maryland Through an African Centered Research Paradigm- Analysis and Recommendations

dependency occur objectively outside of the context of the society which produces these addicts.
Here the “disease theory” of addiction risks locking researchers into an inadvertent ignorance of
how transposing “objectively” productive institutions into an American context can create a
hazardous situation for racialized (specifically Black) “bio-others.”
On Portugal- The Dangers in Implementing Colorblind, ”Disease Model” Reforms
for Addiction
Portugal is the most prominent example held up by advocates of drug decriminalization as
the model of good policy which many argue should be a model for reforms in the United States.
No report on drug decriminalization could be complete without referring the Protugese experiment.
Given the bevy of resources available summarizing the Protugese experiment, and previous quotes
which allude to the Protugese model, it is logical to directly analyse the limitations and culturally
assumptions behind the elevation of the Protugese model to examination and limitations and
potential to create new forms of control and bias.
While the details of the Portugal model can be explored through subsequent analysis, the
historical narrative around Portugal is a useful place to start, as it reveals several essential points
of analysis an African Centered Research Paradigm can add to drug decriminalization research.
Domosławski presents what is a common narrative around explaining how Portugal “descended”
into an addiction crisis. He writes:
“After the Second World War, Portugal, alongside Spain under General Franco, was the
only European country where authoritarian power was still exercised by fascist-oriented
political groups originating in the 1920s. Portugal was a firmly Catholic, traditional,
conservative society governed by the authoritarian dictatorship of Antonio Salazar. Under
the Salazar regime, the Catholic Church gained significant influence.
Salazar’s Portugal was also an autarkic country, closed to new ideas, changes in
Western societies, and new trends in culture and customs. The counterculture movements
of the 1960s that celebrated drug use as a component of fashion and culture largely passed
over Portugal. Drug use (mainly LSD) was accepted within Portugal’s relatively small
communities of artists and bohemians, but it was sporadic and had little cultural or social
impact
.
It was not until the late 1970s that drugs became a noticeable problem in Portugal.
A number of factors potentially contributed to increased drug use in Portugal: the end of
the colonial war in Africa and the return of people from the colonies (including soldiers of
the Portuguese empire), and the fall of the Salazar dictatorship in 1974, which resulted in
a very closed country quickly opening to the world. A recurrent observation made by
interviewees in this study was that drug use, or, to be precise, cannabis use, started to
become more visible in Portugal when Portuguese citizens returned from colonies where
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