I do not disagree with medication-assisted treatment (MAT) rehabilitation which involves tapering/dose reduction. I do disagree with the implementation of "safe

I do not disagree with medication-assisted treatment (MAT) rehabilitation which involves tapering/dose reduction. I do disagree with the implementation of "safe use" Western countries have now, which is ineffective for rehabilitation. Drug rehab programs regularly go much further to be effective, and include group counselling, individual counselling, substance replacement, medication to reduce withdrawal symptoms, relapse management, and similar. On the other hand, harm reduction is a completely different effort that does not constitute safe use in my opinion, because it facilitates continuous use, which is very harmful, even if the harm is reduced. Even in rehabilitation centres, the use of controlled substances is not considered safe by all medics. It is rather more agreeable to call it safer use. By the way, which are the countries that you mention where legalizing narcotics and selling them in pharmacies yielded positive results, and what were the results? If you are talking about legalizing cannabis in some US states and Canada, it is far too early to see the long-term results, although preliminarily, it seems like the use of cannabis has increased. This might be acceptable as a trade-off, as legalizing cannabis will lead to less social stigma for the users, fewer engagements with law enforcement, and safe access. For the producers and distributors, it will mean safer working conditions and labor protections. All for a 10-15% growth in known cannabis use. And cannabis is a relatively safe narcotic. If you are talking about Portugal's decriminalization of drug possession about 20 years ago, the distribution there is still not facilitated by pharmacies, and those in possession of hard narcotics are required to seek treatment, education, or other interventions as prescribed by drug commissions case-by-case. Portugal has not decriminalized narcotics fully, it was more of a shift from punitive measures to rehabilitation measures for the users. The laws surrounding distribution remain generally in line with Western countries.