Dr João Goulão Visits Providence to Share Life-saving Model
Dr João Goulão from Lisbon, Portugal visited Providence in early January. A medical doctor by profession, Dr. Goulão has over 30 years’ experience regarding drug-related issues, working in this field since 1987 as general practitioner, and since then his professional life has been devoted to drugs and health. He was a member of the Portuguese Committee that in 1999, prepared the report on which the first Portuguese Drug Strategy, which included decriminalisation, was based. Dr Goulão is credited as the main architect and champion of the “Portugal model” of addressing addiction to illicit drug use. This common sense approach to addressing drug use in Portugal that he instituted nearly 2 decades ago have led to dramatic improvements in the health of people who use illicit drugs AND an overall decline in the prevalence of illicit drug use in the general population!
To learn more about Dr. Goulao’s historic visit to Rhode Island, please visit:
Billions and billions of pain pills delivered, at what cost?
Portugal’s ‘Drug Czar’ visits RI
Dr João Goulão, architect of Portugal’s drug policy, shares his success with the General Assembly
All images courtesy of Nick Willing
