Portugal. Inside a Busy Safe Consumption Site in Portugal
Portugal. Inside a Busy Safe Consumption Site in Portugal
We decided to create this safe space because the Mouraria neighborhood in Lisbon has always been heavily marked by drug use in the streets. At the beginning of 2022, there were changes in the needs of the community of people who use drugs. They were incessantly looking for safe places to use drugs without being exposed to the gaze of neighbors, tourists and the police.
Consumption rooms have been allowed in Portuguese law since 2001, but the first consumption room only started operating in 2019. In Lisbon, there were only two formal consumption spaces and that was clearly insufficient for the needs of the community.
People need a place where there’s no judgment, where they can be accepted, have support and access to safe consumption material in a dignified space. (Filter, USA, 26.02.2024)