Families and Friends for Drug Law Reform

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Decriminalisation in Portugal
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  • Global state of harm reduction - see IHRA report here >> and the poster here >>

Countries that provide heroin 
as an opiate substitution treatment

Belgium
Canada
Denmark 
Germany
Luxembourg
Netherlands 
Spain
Switzerland
UK

Countries that provide morphine and/or codeine
 as an opiate substitution therapy

Austria
France
Luxembourg 
Switzerland

The German parliament passed the law last Thursday evening (28 May 2009) following a careful trial and evaluation in 6 cities. Eligible persons for admission to the treatment will be those over 23 years of age and who have been addicted for more than five years and who have failed to respond to other treatments.

Germany has now joined Switzerland, The Netherlands, Denmark and the United Kingdom in making prescription heroin a standard treatment for those severely addicted to opiates who have failed other treatments.

In 2001 Portugal decriminalised all drugs including heroin and cocaine. There were many who predicted adverse outcomes such as rampant drug use, high rates of drug tourism, increased addiction and related illnesses. However some eight years later, none of these predictions have eventuated. More here>>>

  • Harm reduction