Safe consumption rooms – A project for the future?

Abstract

The safe consumption rooms (DCRs) are integrated in programs to reduce drug-related harms. These places have developed since the mid-1980s, and now-a-days they exist in a lot of European countries, and also in Canada and Australia. The authors describe historic data as well as the main purposes, physical and human conditions, and typical users of DCRs, and make a review about studies concerning results and evaluation of their impact.

Arguments supporting and rejecting DCRs are presented and discussed. The particular case of Portugal is also mentioned, refering the law and the real actual situation. The authors support the idea that, while the benefits should not be exaggerated, these facilities can make a positive contribution to reducing drug-related harms in Portugal, in a future not so distant.