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People Fixing The World

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Discover the people and the projects trying to make the world a better place

Discover the people and the projects trying to make the world a better place.

Discover the people and the projects trying to make the world a better place.

A weekly programme looking at common challenges around the world and the creative ways people are trying to tackle them.

Presenter Myra Anubi speaks to reporters, experts and innovators to investigate how effective different solutions are, share their successes and inspire listeners with what is possible.

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People Fixing The World: Portugal, drugs and decriminalisation

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Portugal, drugs and decriminalisation

BBC World Service - People Fixing The World, Portugal, drugs and decriminalisation

In 2001 Portugal decriminalised personal drug use to tackle a heroin crisis.

In 2001 Portugal decriminalised personal drug use, offering support and treatment instead of a criminal record – the strategy worked and drug use fell.

In the 1990s Portugal had a major heroin problem, and when it came to people injecting drugs it had one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the EU. It took a radical approach and decriminalised all personal drug use.  

The law introduced in 2001 means people carrying drugs for personal consumption aren’t prosecuted - instead they are referred to health and social services to receive treatment, and the focus is on harm reduction. 

And the strategy worked. The number of people using drugs fell dramatically, new HIV and Hepatitis C infections dropped and drug-related crime became much less of a problem. 

So why haven’t more countries followed their lead and adopted this model? 

Produced by Hannah McNeish for BBC World Service

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

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