This is off-topic, but interesting. NPR did a story on Portugal's experiment with decriminalization. You can listen to it here.

Ten years ago, Portugal decriminalized drugs - all of them - from marijuana to cocaine. The decision followed troubling increases in drug addiction and violence. As much as one percent of the country's population was addicted to heroin, and addicts shot up in the streets of the slums of Lisbon. The decriminalization came paired with rehabilitation, and the Portuguese government declared the program a success. Others note that drug use there is actually up now, and that when the government removed the legal risk, drugs became more appealing.

(You can also read Keith O'Brien's original article here.)