Problem:
Among the main outcomes lies the significant increase of the number of drug users who are encompassed by the system, which is not necessarily a surprise: from an average of 1.5 thousand cases per year, between 1993 and 2000, to an average of 4.7 thousand annual cases, between 2001, when the law come to force, and 2014 [34]. This circumstance may reflect the "net-widening effect", documented in South Australia, following the Cannabis Expiation Notice, in 1987 [42]. Still, it sharply contrasts with what has been observed in California, where a decrease in cannabis detections and referrals was registered after the 1976 Moscone Act, which turned small quantity possession of cannabis into a misdemeanour sanctionable by a fine [43]. But the virtues of the PDPM do not only rely on the decriminalization law per se, but on the set of devices forged and implemented in the meantime. Alongside the legislative changes, it became evident that there was a need to develop more specialized and autonomous coordination mechanisms, namely the Commissions for the Dissuasion of Drug Addiction, responsible for implementing administrative sanctions, and harm reduction structures, lacking at that time. Need Assignment Help?