Portugal’s revolutionary drug policy
The Europeans | European news, politics and culture
Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer
4.8 • 162 Ratings
🗓️ 29 July 2019
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Scotland now has the highest rate of drug-related deaths in Europe — even higher than the United States. The shocking statistics have prompted calls in Scotland for a move towards the decriminalisation of drug use, taking the lead from a radical change of approach in Portugal. Portugal went from a full-blown opioid crisis in the 1980s to having one of the lowest rates of drug deaths in Europe today. We called Andreia Alves, a social worker with the Lisbon NGO Crescer, to find how a more humane policy makes her work easier. Also: turtle doves, VIP tour guides, and the art of the Spanish compromise.
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Patreon
europeanspodcast@gmail.com
Thanks for listening.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | So we're still here, Dominic, we haven't melted despite this insane continent-wide heat wave that has hit Europe this week. |
| 0:23.6 | I kind of almost have melted. |
| 0:26.4 | You sound quite melty. |
| 0:28.0 | Yeah, although I did just jump in one of the canals. |
| 0:30.6 | And it is the nicest thing to do in this city of Amsterdam that I live in. |
| 0:36.2 | Ooh, I'm speaking in Dutch sentence order. |
| 0:39.8 | The city that you live in? |
| 0:41.4 | Yeah. |
| 0:42.0 | In this city, Amsterdam in which I live. |
| 0:44.0 | The Dutch grasses are going well. |
| 0:45.9 | Yeah, they are. |
| 0:46.7 | And actually, I've started thinking in Dutch. |
| 0:48.5 | And yesterday I had my first dream in Dutch, |
| 0:50.5 | which was really annoying because I have a very small vocabulary. |
| 0:54.1 | So I think really stupidly in Dutch. |
| 0:56.7 | So what were you dreaming about? |
| 0:58.2 | Oh, probably about just being too hot because it was 33 degrees still at midnight last night. |
| 1:04.6 | Sorry, I'm going all over the place, aren't I? I was talking about swimming. |
| 1:08.1 | Just put it down to our melted brains, listeners. |
| 1:10.9 | By the time this episode comes out, you will be sitting by a pool, relaxing, doing nothing. |
| 1:16.3 | So you're going to be fine. |
| 1:17.9 | I know. I'm swapping a hot country for an even hotter country. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.