How many of them are in government health care programs as an alternative to prison sentences?
Well, this has been our main concern, and it is what we have focused in our work over the past 10 years. Of these 350 thousand drug addicts, about 210 thousand people are being given social assistance. We have created a large treatment system capable of satisfying this demand, so that over half of the problematic drug users are being helped. Where do the resources for these health care programs come from, and which experiences could be replicated in gathering funds for this purpose? The funds come from the national government, this was at first a political decision taken by the national government, that of deciding to invest in this sector. Investments have tripled over the past 10 years. At first we invested 250 million pounds a year, starting in 1998, which was when we took office in the government. We currently invest 800 million pounds a year. It is a significant figure. We have created the budget, it was new money, and at the time the government had the resources to do it, but I b
