Would you mind elaborating how the US heavily punished Portugal for its actions around drugs?
Or for that matter, what crippling sanctions the US placed on Canada for legalizing pot?
The peaks days of the drug war are long over. The US has no real capacity to do anything to nations for such decisions, that has become very clear. As more nations and US states legalize and decriminalize, the pro war on drugs group will be and or is being shown to have very little actual power. At this point even the Republicans are increasingly coming around to the drug war being an absurdity. Jeff Sessions & Co. are dinosaurs on the way out rather rapidly, the US will probably have a majority of states legalized re pot within the next decade.
Don't know why you get downvoted. I also think that states legalising drugs with a sound plan won't face retaliation. Dutch laws on consumption of weed also haven't hurt their relationship to the US.
Marijuana has never been legal in the Netherlands. Laws against cultivation are quite strictly enforced. Only sale and consumption are tolerated, but still technically illegal.
I'll guess that Portugal does not have a strong relationship with the US, which limits the level of sanctions that could be used. And the European Union would protect one of its member, I think.
It's simply that Portugal hasn't legalised anything, so they're not in conflict with their treaty obligations. The same as the Netherlands, use is simply decriminalised, not legalised.
Or for that matter, what crippling sanctions the US placed on Canada for legalizing pot?
The peaks days of the drug war are long over. The US has no real capacity to do anything to nations for such decisions, that has become very clear. As more nations and US states legalize and decriminalize, the pro war on drugs group will be and or is being shown to have very little actual power. At this point even the Republicans are increasingly coming around to the drug war being an absurdity. Jeff Sessions & Co. are dinosaurs on the way out rather rapidly, the US will probably have a majority of states legalized re pot within the next decade.