Peer educator Nuno Maneta and social worker Mariana Gomes are on a first-name basis with everyone in the grip of drug addiction they encounter while distributing silver foils and safer drug-use kits across Lisbon. They reflect how since 2001, Portugal's approach to debilitating drug use is to help people overcome the issues that drove them to that point. The decision to decriminalize drug consumption was followed by a society-wide effort to pursue a harm reduction strategy - outreach teams, homeless centers for drug users, low-threshold methadone programs, and walk-in points of care. “It’s more carrots [than sticks],” says national drug coordinator João Goulão. The Portuguese approach has inspired policymakers in British Columbia, Canada, and in Oregon. In Europe, the Czech Republic has decriminalized drugs, and Ireland is considering that step.
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