Pulling Out all the Stops to Reduce Overdose Deaths

The United States is in the midst of a devastating overdose crisis. Over 100,000 people died every year between 2021 and 2023, and despite recent drops in provisional mortality numbers, the U.S. continues to have the highest overdose death rate in the world. Portugal, on the other hand, is often considered the “gold standard” for harm reduction, but this wasn’t always the case. Faced with rising rates of overdose deaths and disease transmission, the Portuguese government overhauled their drug policy in 1999, causing a dramatic reversal of that trajectory. 

To learn more about how Portugal has been able to reduce overdose deaths, and what this means for the U.S., stay tuned for our next International Insight on Monday, January 13.