On FEBRUARY 20, 2012 Richard Rider posted here on OS an article that had the attention getting headline of Portugal legalizes drugs -- drug abuse drops 50%. That headline was misleading due to its oversimplification.

As Maia Szalavitz  wrote in TIME on Sunday, Apr. 26, 2009:

Under Portugal's new regime, people found guilty of possessing small   amounts of drugs are sent to a panel consisting of a psychologist, social worker and legal adviser for appropriate treatment (which may be refused without criminal punishment), instead of jail.

And as Brian Vastag  wrote in SCIENTIFIC  AMERICAN on April 7, 2009:

Under the Portuguese plan, penalties for people caught dealing and trafficking drugs are unchanged; dealers are still jailed and subjected to fines depending on the crime. But people caught using or possessing small amounts—defined as the amount needed for 10 days of personal use—are brought before what's known as a "Dissuasion Commission," an administrative body created by the 2001 law.

Each three-person commission includes at least one lawyer or judge and one health care or social services worker. The panel has the option of recommending treatment, a small fine, or no sanction.

...Drug legalization removes all criminal penalties for producing, selling and using drugs; no country has tried it. In contrast, decriminalization, as practiced in Portugal, eliminates jail time for drug users but maintains criminal penalties for dealers.

The distinction between legalizing drugs and that of eliminating jail time for drug users is an important distinction not given to us by Richard Rider's headline or the body of his article. Perhaps then the distinction was not understood by this self-declared GOP activist.