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 Short history of drug treatment 

In 1976 appeared the first drug related governmental organisation focused on the fight co-ordination against the illegal drugs. It was "The Drug Fighting Co-ordination Office", "Gabinete de Coordenação do Combate à Droga" (GCCD).

This office was integrated in the Presidency of Ministers Council and it had the responsibility of co-ordination, and data collecting from, two other institutions:

• The Drug Prophylaxy Studies Center, "Centros de Estudo e Profilaxia da Droga" (CEPD), with responsibilities in the demand reduction field, from which evolved the first public services treatment;
• The Drug Control and Research Center, or Centro de Investigação e Controle da Droga (CICD), with responsibilities on supply reduction field. At that time some hospitals, for example the "Santa Maria Hospital" in Lisbon had specialised addiction treatment services, operating in since 1973. It is worth mentioning that the first methadone treatment experiences in Portugal were done in 1979.

When the Drug Addiction Prevention Research Centre was created (CEPD), in 1979, there were three Regional Delegations: Lisbon, Oporto and Coimbra. In 1987, the Government approved an Integrated Drug Fight Project (between ministries), called Projecto VIDA.

This project aimed at prevention plans; treatment; rehabilitation; reinsertion and drug traffic fight. Taipas Centre opens in Lisbon, under the patronage of the Ministry of Health’s first unit exclusively aimed at drug addict treatment (abandoning a psycho-dynamic model for a bio-psycho-social one, enforcing the medical intervention’s weight).

Taipas Centre served as model to the creation Treatment Centres for Drug Addicts (CAT), with professionals trained at the Taipas Centre, others with experience acquired in the Oporto and Coimbra CEPDs.

This CAT network spread through every region, district capitals and equally important cities, offering drug addicts prevention and treatment structures and support to their families. In 1990, these structures are integrated in a single Service: the Drug Addiction Treatment and Prevention Service (SPTT)

SPPT, which was merged with IPDT in 2002 to form IDT, which evolved to the current IDT I.P., started the first public drug addiction treatment centres network. In order to ensure public supply, SPTT completes the public offer by contracting “beds” with the private sector, charities and profitable institutions.

The National Strategy against Drugs and Drug Addiction 1999-2004 defined drug addiction as a disease, and therefore, the whole concept of dealing with drug addicts is permeated with this humanistic paradigm.

However, the law followed suit long after society had accepted, notwithstanding political opposition from right wing political sectors.