Consider This from NPR

Does Portugal Have The Answer To Stopping Drug Overdose Deaths?

Feb 20, 2024

Brian Mann, an NPR correspondent covering the U.S. opioid crisis, shares insights from his reporting on Portugal's innovative drug policies. He highlights how Portugal's decriminalization of drugs and focus on treatment over punishment has led to remarkably low overdose rates. Mann discusses personal stories illustrating the supportive healthcare system that replaces a punitive approach. The conversation raises the question: could these methods be a solution for the escalating opioid epidemic in the U.S.?

10:37

Creator website

Episode guests

Brian Mann

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Treating addiction as an illness, not a crime, can significantly reduce overdose deaths by prioritizing healthcare over criminalization.

Police in Portugal act as allies, guiding drug users to treatment instead of arresting them, contributing to a healthcare-focused model.

Deep dives

Portugal's Approach to Drug Policy: A Radical Shift

Portugal has successfully tackled its drug crisis by taking a radically different approach to drug policy. Unlike the United States, Portugal has decriminalized small amounts of drugs and prioritized healthcare over criminalization. By publicly funding addiction services and providing free drug treatment programs, Portugal has significantly reduced overdose deaths. People in Portugal are 45 times less likely to die from overdoses compared to the US. This demonstrates that treating addiction as an illness, rather than a crime, can save lives and provide better recovery opportunities.

Intro

4min

Contrasting Approaches to Drug Treatment: Portugal vs. the U.S.

2min

Portugal's Controversial Decriminalization and Health-Centric Approach to Drug Use

2min

Exploring the Impact of Portugal's Drug Decriminalization Model

4min

Brian Mann covers the U-S opioid and fentanyl crisis for NPR. That means he talks to a lot of people struggling with addiction. Again and again, he's heard stories of people who have succumbed to their addiction — last year 112, 000 — more than ever in history.

But when Mann traveled to Portugal to report on that country's model for dealing with the opioid crisis, he heard a very different story. Overdose deaths in Portugal are extremely rare.

The country has taken a radically different approach to drugs – decriminalizing small amounts and publicly funding addiction services – including sites where people can use drugs like crack and heroin.

Portugal treats addiction as an illness rather than a crime. No one has to pay for addiction care, and no one scrambles to navigate a poorly regulated recovery system. Could Portugal's approach help the U-S fight its opioid epidemic?

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts

Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.

Consider This from NPR

Does Portugal Have The Answer To Stopping Drug Overdose Deaths?

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Portugal's Approach to Drug Policy: A Radical Shift

The Role of Police in Portugal's Drug Policy

Implementing Portugal's Approach in the United States

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts