International day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking, 2012

The EMCDDA celebrated the 2012 international day with an awareness-raising event for the Lisbon diplomatic community, its partners from the Portuguese authorities and the EU bodies in Portugal. Guests of honour were the Secretary of State, Deputy to the Minister of Health, Dr Fernando Leal da Costa and Secretary of State for Cooperation, Mr Luis Brites Pereira.

Speaking at the event, Dr Leal da Costa said that the Portuguese government would be focusing its attention on prevention, targeting in particular young people and first-time users. He stressed: ‘The main message must be that there are no “soft” drugs. We must be relentless in tackling all new challenges, including cooperation in the fight against the so-called “legal”, and very dangerous, drugs sold in “smart shops”’.

EMCDDA Director Wolfgang Götz underlined Europe’s concerns over the growing number of new drugs entering the market and recent HIV outbreaks among drug injectors in some EU Member States. ‘These are among the reasons why, in the EU, we cannot slow down in our efforts to tackle the drugs problem’, he declared.

Read more in this news release: Market share of herbal cannabis increasing as domestic production rises, says EU drugs agency