Previous
Liz Evans
Figueira is the policeman who runs Portugal’s top drug control agency. During Portugal’s era of drug prohibition, Figueira strongly opposed decriminalization: he thought that repression, marginalization, and force were the only ways to reduce drug use and addiction. However, after the government implemented decriminalization, he was shocked to see it dramatically reduce addiction, overdose deaths, new HIV cases, teenage drug use, and especially drug-related crime. Figueira’s transformation also shows how it’s possible for policymakers and drug war advocates to switch sides once they see clear evidence that decriminalization works.
João Figueira Quotes in Chasing the Scream
The Chasing the Scream quotes below are all either spoken by João Figueira or refer to João Figueira . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 16
Quotes
We all—the vast majority of drug warriors, and the vast majority of legalizers—have a set of shared values. We all want to protect children from drugs. We all want to keep people from dying as a result of drug use. We all want to reduce addiction. […] When we move beyond the drug war, we will be able to achieve those shared goals with much greater success.
At the start of my journey, I set out to find an answer to a contradiction within myself, and within our culture—between the impulse to be compassionate to addicts, and the impulse to crush and destroy our addictive impulses. Now, at last, I see—and really feel—that it is not a contradiction at all. A compassionate approach leads to less addiction. […] This isn’t a debate about values. It’s a debate about how to achieve those values.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Chasing the Scream LitChart as a printable PDF.
João Figueira Quotes in Chasing the Scream
The Chasing the Scream quotes below are all either spoken by João Figueira or refer to João Figueira . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 16
Quotes
We all—the vast majority of drug warriors, and the vast majority of legalizers—have a set of shared values. We all want to protect children from drugs. We all want to keep people from dying as a result of drug use. We all want to reduce addiction. […] When we move beyond the drug war, we will be able to achieve those shared goals with much greater success.
At the start of my journey, I set out to find an answer to a contradiction within myself, and within our culture—between the impulse to be compassionate to addicts, and the impulse to crush and destroy our addictive impulses. Now, at last, I see—and really feel—that it is not a contradiction at all. A compassionate approach leads to less addiction. […] This isn’t a debate about values. It’s a debate about how to achieve those values.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
