Name: Jane Liu (49712038)
Reaction Article#5
Date: 05/29/2009

My Reactions:
I was so surprised when I finished reading this article. Decriminalizing uses of drugs？ It sounds so ridiculous to me, because we are taught not to use drugs ever from being children to adults. I always think the government should enforce the laws more efficiently, and also it should teach people the right concept of drug using. However, the government of Portugal decriminalizes the use of drug. I totally don’t understand why the law can be agreed by the government. The responsibility of the government should prohibit it, instead of urging it. Although the statistics show there seems to be a good result of the enforcement of the law, I just cannot believe how this can happen.
Maybe some viewpoints of the article are right, because they say the different opinions of Europe union and the U.S are owing to differences between cultures. Mostly, Taiwan people prefer the concepts of the U.S to those of Europe union. Maybe that is why we are so surprised and hard to accept when we know the news.
In Taiwan, we have severe laws and punishments to drug users, and to those who use drugs, mostly we will despise them. It is ashamed when one is caught using drugs. For example, in Taiwan once the entertainers are caught using drugs, it means that their careers are over.
Maybe the enforcement of the law can be very successful in Portugal, but it may not be so good when it is used in Taiwan. (260 words)