What problem is being addressed?

Opioid Crisis- In the 1980s, one in 10 people had tried heroin and HIV was on the rise. After action, ‘HIV infection plummeted from an all-time high in 2000 of 104.2 new cases per million to 4.2 cases per million in 2015’.’

What is their innovative solution?

• Action: ‘Portugal became the first country to decriminalise the possession and consumption of all illicit substances- those caught with a personal supply might be given a warning, a small fine, or told to appear before a local commission – a doctor, a lawyer and a social worker – about treatment, harm reduction, and the support services that were available to them... The opioid crisis stabilised and in the following years usage, HIV rates, drug-related crime/incarceration, and overdose deaths dramatically dropped’
• People: Portuguese government- National Commission for the Fight against AIDS of the Ministry of Health
• Resources: Portugal now has the lowest drug-related death rates in Europe and trucks drive around Lisbon supplying free cups of Methadone to users as an opioid substitute.

How can this be applied to Meadville?

Providing access to a doctor/lawyer/social worker post drug-use instead of being arrested or taking a trip to the ER. People would not be paying thousands for ER trips and they would get the long-term treatment they need

• (Ferreira, 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/05/portugals-radical-drugs-policy-is-working-why-hasnt-the-world-copied-it)
• (Kristof, 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/22/opinion/sunday/portugal-drug-decriminalization.html)