Once hailed for decriminalizing drugs, Portugal is now having doubts:

In the tourist quarter in the shadow of Porto’s fortresslike cathedral, a social worker with a government-funded nonprofit, SAOM, handed out clean syringe packages to people who use heroin. When crack pipes are available, the social workers give them out. There’s no judgment, few questions, and no pressure to embrace change.

Summing up the philosophy, Luísa Neves, SAOM’s president, said: “You have to respect the user. If they want to use, it is their right.”

Absolutely bonkers. Not putting people in jail for drug abuse is one thing, condoning it is madness. Do they also hand out flasks of whiskey to drunks?