Yesterday I conducted an in-depth interview with Raquel Lopes, who is a member of the technical team that supports the Commission members of the CDT in Lisbon. Raquel is a clinical psychologist by training and has experience in prison work. Like all the CDT members and staff I have met so far, she has been at the CDT since the system was created in 2001. Like all the other CDT and SICAD staff I have met previously, she displays a commitment, enthusiasm and belief in her work that is plain to see and to respect. They all share conviction in the health based approach of the Portuguese system for dealing with drug use, with its emphasis on respect for individual situations and needs, on information, advice and treatment provision, on prevention and on voluntary compliance. Decriminalising drug use in the ambit of a wider, integrated system that deals with dependence as the main issue has not, in their view, either led to widespread use nor to an increase in drug fuelled crime. Instead, a lot of users who would not have otherwise come to the attention of health and support services now have a chance to be helped. Raquel's workload at the Lisbon CDT is busy and varied: seeing and assessing on average 4-5 people a day, writing up reports, collecting information and extending networks of assistance are among the activities of the team. Most of the people that come before the CDT have been found in possession (or using or buying) cannabis; the other most frequent drugs of use encountered by the CTD are cocaine and heroin, with very few incidences of synthetic drugs like metamphetamine or mdna. |