September 14, 202 from New frontier Data
When Portugal decriminalised the possession and consumption of all drugs in 2001, including cannabis for personal use, it put the country in the avant-garde of global drug policy. The brainchild of Portugal’s national drugs coordinator Joao Goulao, the “Portuguese Experiment” was a radical initiative to address increases in the nation’s addiction rates and drug-related violence.
Nearly two decades on, a reminder of Portugal’s liberal regime arrived in late May when Uruguay’s Fotmer Life Sciences exported almost 1.5 metric tons of high-THC cannabis flower to the country, following a 1 metric ton shipment six months earlier. Both batches had unattributed clients, causing widespread speculation. It remains a mystery, but also provides evidence of Portugal’s growing strength as European hub, market, and as an increasingly favoured place for cultivation – all of which are driving investment.
