Portugal: “Exposure to Cannabis in Adolescence and Health” will be debated at a conference in the Assembly of the Republic

It is already on the 19th of September that the Citizens' Initiative for the Responsible Regulation of Cannabis for Adults organizes a conference at the Assembly of the Portuguese Republic, dedicated to the theme “Exposure to Cannabis in Adolescence and Health”. With the scientific coordination of Professor Teresa Summavielle, the conference is promoted by GAT — Treatment Activists Group, and features several national and international experts on different panels throughout the day.

Taking place at the António Almeida Santos Auditorium, from 09:00 am to 17:00 pm next Tuesday, September 19th, the event will feature the participation of the President of the Assembly of the Republic, Augusto Santos Silva, in the opening session, alongside by João Goulão, General Director of SICAD — Intervention Service in Addictive Behaviors and Addictions, Luís Mendão, coordinator of GAT and the Citizen Initiative and Maria de Lurdes Rodrigues, Rector of ISCTE-IUL, with the presence of the Minister yet to be confirmed of Health, Manuel Pizarro, and the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas.
The Citizens' Initiative for the Responsible Regulation of Cannabis for Adults (ICRRCA) was recently created by the GAT and “is aligned with its objectives and with a need felt for decades by those working in the field, with a view to reducing risks and promoting of drug policies that break with the prohibitionism that has existed for more than 100 years”, states the organization’s website.

According to the GAT, the ICRRCA began at the reception of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, in the debate “Drug Policies – the Future”, organized by the GAT on June 24, 2019, at Casa dos Bicos, in Lisbon.

“In this debate, GAT had the honor of counting on the illustrious participation of former President of the Republic Jorge Sampaio and a group of leaders who work in the field of drug policies, such as Michel Kazatchkine, Ruth Dreifuss, José de Faria-Costa , Maria José Morgado, Tiago Silveira and João Taborda da Gama, among others, without leaving out the representation of civil society and People Who Use Drugs (PUD), represented by Marta Pinto, Rui Coimbra and Magda Ferreira”, states the Initiative .

The conference “Exposure to Cannabis in Adolescence and Health” now aims to promote a debate “important for reflection, not only on the needs still felt, but above all on possible solutions, taking into account the Portuguese reality”. The GAT emphasizes that this initiative is based “on a joint strategy based on the best knowledge, reliable and timely data with the aim of combating drug trafficking, in defense of Human Rights, the Rule of Law and public health”.

Among the main speakers are Socialist Party (PS) deputy Alexandre Quintanilha, President of the Education and Science Committee, Professor David Nutt, from Imperial College London, Danielle Zulino, Professor specializing in Psychiatry and Addiction and evaluator of the cannabis project in Geneva, Switzerland, Rebecca Haines-Saah, from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, André Peralta Santos, from the General Directorate of Health, Alexis Goosdeel, director of the EMCDDA/European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction , lawyer João Taborda da Gama, who will moderate a debate between several deputies and Margarida Tavares, Secretary of State for Health Promotion.

Participation in the event is free, but subject to registration here.
See the full conference program below.