SMDC representatives participated in a roundtable meeting on accelerating access to substitution maintenance therapy services in Ukraine

SMDC representatives participated in a roundtable meeting on accelerating access to substitution maintenance therapy services in Ukraine, based on the results of a technical study visit to Portugal. The meeting was organized in a hybrid format by the World Health Organization Office in Ukraine with the support of the CDC in Ukraine, the Center for Public Health of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and the International Charitable Foundation «Alliance for Public Health».

Background: In 2000, Portugal decriminalized the public and private use, purchase and possession of all drugs (as long as they do not exceed the amount needed for an average person to consume for 10 days). Since the implementation of the law in 2011, Portugal has been recognized internationally as a model for effectively solving public health problems (including opioid addiction) and the social and economic consequences of narcotic drug use.

During the meeting, representatives of the Portuguese government, the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA), and the non-governmental organization for social integration Ares do Pinhal presented the experience of Portuguese drug policy.

The participants of the roundtable supported the recommendations on the expediency of auditing Ukrainian and European legislation for the implementation of the principles of decriminalization of individual drug use in Ukraine.