While speaking at the Madeira Days conference, the President of the Regional Parliament, José Manuel Rodrigues, reminded his audience that the effects of the pandemic will have “serious consequences” for the health of the islands population. He added that “mental health and psychological support services have to be reinforced to meet this new reality which sees no sign of improving until the end of 2021.
He also pointed to another “worrying phenomenon,” concerning the increase in various dependencies, namely drug addiction, and in particular new psychoactive substances, such as ‘bloom,’ which “is becoming increasingly popular with users and which, like all drugs, has caused countless problems for many families.”
In this context, José Manuel Rodrigues argued that the Region “must face this problem once again and must demand that the Republic update existing laws to combat drug trafficking in order to make the sale of these new drugs illegal.
His comments come after the Judicial Police issued a statement, saying that the increased use of new psychoactive substances in Madeira is ten times higher than the national average.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
