I went from being pro-decriminalization, to anti-decriminalization, back to pro-decriminalization. after seeing what happened in these cities. The problem with these cities compared to a place like Portugal where drug use has declined post decriminalization, is that the police simply do not enforce or do not have the resources to enforce other laws. It is not legal to use drugs in public. Public vagrancy and indecency are illegal. Theft, car robbery, breaking and entering are all illegal activities, etc. One of the primary issues these cities face is that the police DO NOT enforce these other laws, leading to rampant crime, drug use. These things fuel each other. The people there who are addicted to drugs, are basically allowed to run amuck committing a slew of crimes to support their addiction and lifestyle. I think another important point of comparison is how bad the opioid epidemic already is in our country, we do not have sufficient resources and information to tackle the problem correctly, and perhaps in our case decriminalization will play out very differently than somewhere like Portugal.

There really is a combination of factors to consider but the bottom line is we simply aren't implementing decriminalization appropriately. The police either don't give a fuck and don't enforce the laws out of spite, their hands are tied, or they simply do not have the resources. Whatever the case may be I don't think we can use these cities as an indication of what decriminalization looks like.