edit: added missed article title

I wonder if they would try to legalize and regulate, I don’t hear positive news of places doing this though.

Article from 2021, “Death penalty: How many countries still have it?”

• China
• Iran
• Saudi Arabia
• Iraq
• Egypt
• US
• Pakistan
• Somalia
• South Sudan
• Yemen

According to Amnesty there are:

• 106 countries where use of the death penalty is not allowed by law
• 8 countries which permit the death penalty only for serious crimes in exceptional circumstances, such as those committed during times of war
• 28 countries which have death penalty laws but haven’t executed anyone for at least 10 years, and a policy or more formal commitment not to execute
• 56 countries which retain death penalty laws and either carry out executions or the authorities have not made an official declaration not to execute

Death penalty: How many countries still have it? [Dec 11 2021 | BBC | Reality Check team]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-45835584

10 facts about the death penalty in the U.S. [Jul 19 2021 | John Gramlich | Pew Research Center]

• Six-in-ten U.S. adults strongly or somewhat favor the death penalty for convicted murderers
• A majority of Americans have concerns about the fairness of the death penalty and whether it serves as a deterrent against serious crime.
• Opinions about the death penalty vary by party, education and race and ethnicity.
• Views of the death penalty differ by religious affiliation.
• Support for the death penalty is consistently higher in online polls than in phone polls.
• Phone polls have shown a long-term decline in public support for the death penalty.
• A majority of states have the death penalty, but far fewer use it regularly.
• Death sentences have steadily decreased in recent decades.
• Annual executions are far below their peak level.
• The average time between sentencing and execution in the U.S. has increased sharply since the 1980s.

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/07/19/10-facts-about-the-death-penalty-in-the-u-s/

Want to Win the War on Drugs? Portugal Might Have the Answer [Aug 01 2018 | Naina Bajekal | Time]

https://time.com/longform/portugal-drug-use-decriminalization/

Some experts say the resounding success of Portugal’s approach has been exaggerated. In a 2014 paper, UC Berkeley’s Hannah Laqueur found that even before Portugal passed its decriminalization law, it was already loosely enforcing its anti-drug laws. “For years before the 2001 legislation, fines served as the primary sanction for individuals arrested and convicted of drug use,” she wrote. “By removing the possibility of criminal sanctions for drug use, the 2001 law primarily codified the existing practice.”

While there is still a debate about the policy and how easily it could apply to other countries, it is clear that on the ground in Portugal, healthcare workers feel better equipped to help addicts. Fonseca was surprised and moved by their dedication to people “largely forgotten by the rest of society.” That’s in spite of austerity measures introduced two years after Portugal’s 2010 financial crisis, when the government merged the 1,700 staff of its autonomous drug agency with its national health service. Although Fonseca says centers still lack adequate funding, two state-sponsored outreach teams—made up of psychologists, social workers and nurses—continue to travel each day to find addicts and get them the treatment they need. “The teams would go to the most dangerous parts of Lisbon and create real relationships,” he says.

Countries That Have Decriminalized Drugs [Aug 20 2020 | Victoria Simpson | WorldAtlas]

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-that-have-decriminalized-drugs.html

• Portugal
• Germany
• Argentina
• Czech Republic

• Over 25 countries around the world have decriminalized drugs to some degree, including Portugal, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and Germany.
• In the US, marijuana use is decriminalized in some states, but it is still illegal at the federal level, making it difficult for marijuana-related businesses to set up shop.
• Countries that have decriminalized drugs have seen disease rates drop as well as deaths from overdose.