Witness History - How Switzerland defeated its heroin epidemic
Download How Switzerland defeated its heroin epidemic
In the 1990s, Switzerland decided to tackle one of Europe's worst drugs epidemics by trying radical new policy ideas including providing safe-injection rooms for addicts and even prescribing pure heroin. The new strategy dramatically cut overdoses, HIV infections and the number of new users, and in 2008 the Swiss voted in a referendum to enshrine the changes permanently in law. Zak Brophy talks to Andre Seidenberg, a Swiss doctor who worked with addicts for decades, and to former Swiss president Ruth Dreifuss, who campaigned for the change in policy.
PHOTO: Drug addicts in a disused railway station in Zurich in the 1990s (Getty Images)
Published on Friday, 4th June 2021.
Available Podcasts from Witness History
We are not the BBC, we only list available podcasts. To find out more about the programme including episodes available on BBC iPlayer, go to the Witness History webpage.