High Tolerance: Legal Identities and Comparative Drug Policy Reform.

The social and criminal control of drug users through strict prohibition is undergoing a distinct period of philosophical and political reconsideration. In response to eroding consensus important changes in the legal processing of non-violent drug offenders are becoming institutionalized. The merging of criminal justice and public health systems in the form of drug treatment courts or the replacement of criminal with civil sanctions for treatment-oriented policies are examples evolving policy trends. Comparing Portuguese and American case studies, this paper examines the conditions under which drug reform based on harm reduction instead of risk management or punitive mentalities is achieved. The coordinated integration of criminal justice, drug treatment and social services is an essential element of both reforms. What makes these case study sites of particular empirical and theoretical interest is that while they are organizationally similar, they are also philosophically and legally distinct. The comprehensive policy programs offered by these two case studies typify subtle, yet distinct, legal, social and medical reform models. More importantly they reveal stark differences underlying the legal identities not only of drug users but also the experts who manage them. This is a timely concern for sociologists intent on understanding the framework of decriminalization in the wider context of legal reform, policy scholars and organizational theorists as well as activists and interested stakeholders who are currently negotiating these transitions. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]