Lassie in Lisbon – Part 3

Week 2

Day 3 – Today’s focus was on harm reduction. The first session was about harm reduction generally, with a focus on opioid use. Then we had two sessions about Drug Consumption Rooms, with experience from Paris and Lisbon, then there were the final student presentations.

• Alice presented her research: Gender Neutral or Gender Blind? A discursive analysis of Australia’s National Drug Strategy.
• Ana Carolina shared her research about The Possession of Drugs for Owe Use and for Drug Dealing in Brazil, analysing the law enforcement and the social impacts of the Brazilian drug policy.
• Marisa presented some of the results from her study; Investigation in Prisoners with Opioid Use Disorder: Results on Hepatitis C.
• Michael presented From Handcuffed to Enabled Hands: the role of occupational therapy in substance addiction and rehabilitation.
• And finally Edith spoke about her role in EU drug policy.

This evening a meal was organised for all 53+ of us, at a local restaurant. This was a really nice way to spend more time with fellow students and summer school organisers.

Day 4 – Today’s first two sessions were titled From Evidence to Decision Making, and included some discussions dissemination of information. The next session focused on Using Data to Monitor Implementation of Evidence Based Interventions. There was also an additional afternoon question and answer session with the Director of the EMCDDA. I asked about the prevalence of spiking of drinks but, as expected, there is not much detail about this because of difficulties of monitoring and recording.

Day 5 – Test day! We had to take a test and we have all passed !
To end the summer school we had a session entitled ‘Is the Portuguese model exportable? A public health approach as a base for drugs policy (more than just decriminalisation)’ which provided a summary session about the Portuguese system and processes. Each country must find its own way to address problematic drug use from a health and social prospective. And on that note, the summer school has come to a close.

It’s been an incredible experience with lots of thought provoking sessions and discussion with the fellow students, who have made this opportunity all the more enjoyable and enlightening. I’ve used a whole pad of paper, used all the ink in a pen, and am going away with a better understanding of the drugs field and with lots of new friends and colleagues from around the world to draw experience from in the future.

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