Portuguese government approves community sites where injection drug users can inject themselves under supervision

The Portuguese government has approved the establishment of community sites where injection drug users can inject themselves under supervision, and new measures call for needle-exchange programs to be installed in prisons by 2008, AFP/Today Online reports.

Advocates of injection sites say such services can help prevent needle-sharing, which can help spread HIV.

The measures -- which also call for increased methadone use to treat heroin addicts -- are part of a broader program aimed at "reduc[ing] the consumption of drugs and diminish[ing] their harmful social and health effects," according to a statement from the government.

Portugal in 2000 decriminalized drug use, but selling drugs remains illegal, according to AFP/Today Online (AFP/Today Online, 8/24).