 And finally, George Sampaio, the former president, George Sampaio was born in Lisbon on September 18, 1939. In 1961, he graduated in law from Lisbon University. Whilst at university, he was involved in various academic activities that marked then the start of persistent political action against the dictatorship. He then took a legal career. He became a member of the Board of the Law Association, playing an important role in the defense of political prisoners in the dictatorship. In 1969, he stood for parliamentary elections for the National Assembly as a member of the CDE, Electoral Democratic Commission, opposing the ruling dictatorship. Politically active, he participated in the recent resistance movements working towards a socialist inclined democratic alternative. From 1979 to 1984, he was a member of the European Human Rights Commission of the Council of Europe, where he played an important role in defending fundamental rights and in contributing to a more dynamic implementation of the principles contained in the European Convention of Human Rights. He was reelected to the parliament in 1985, 87, and 91. In 1989, he ran for mayor of Lisbon, and he was elected. Later reelected in 1993. At the time, his candidacy was of great political significance and gave what were local elections at a national impact. In 1995, following a successful campaign, Justin Pye was sworn in as the president of the Republic of Portugal. In May 2006, he was appointed by Cofiana as United Nations General Special Envoy to stop TB. And in April 2007, he was appointed by Ben Kimun as United Nations I Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, a position he held until 2012. He holds a significant number of Portuguese and foreign honors and awards. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. George Sampaio. Your next instance is, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon to everyone. I am really very pleased and thankful for the opportunity given to me to share with you a few thoughts on the subject that is both very close to my heart and in many ways at the core of my political life over the past 30 years. But before going into details, let me extend warm greetings to you all, in particular to your organizers and to my fellow speakers. Having heard all of those who spoke in this session, I think you are well informed of all the paths that had to be followed. I am humbled by their wide breadth of experiences and accomplishments, as well as by the very deep interest in this topic of this audience at large. Permit-o-me ainda que saúde em português, todos os meus concidadantes aqui presentes, que estou certo compreenderão que falem em inglês nesta conferência internacional tal como foi solicitado pelos organizadores. Last but not least, let me thank the two co-organizers, Harm Reduction International, and Updash, J.S.P.R.J.P.R. de Moviment, for holding this very timely conference. The program is, of course, very impressive, and the wide range of speakers' amounts is really truly amazing. My sincere congratulations. Dear friends, if I may say so, I have been addressing the topic of drug policies since the 90s when I was mayor of my city, Lisbon. And afterwards, as presidents of this country, I kept this issue among my priorities, trying to keep it high on the national political agenda. The reason why I accepted to be part of the Global Commission on Drug Policy set by President Franz Gecker, those from Brazil, and that is now chaired by my good friend, Ruth Dreyfus from Switzerland, was precisely because of my longstanding personal commitment to this hot topic, which for me, by and large, is the main issue for public health. But that is more than a personal interest because in this very specific issue of drug control, Portugal has a lot to share with other countries and partners, and I still think a lot to learn. Why? Because we have a solid bedrock of evidence to provide about the outcomes of the changes made in our drug policy since the 90s, so I'll explain today by Professor Quintanilla, since the 90s when Portugal was facing a serious opioid epidemic that sparked alarm across all social groups. So let me start by sharing with you our experience. In these rather dark times, dominated by failures and regressions in many fields, it is good to have, after all, a success story. This story is a part of a pioneering reform of drug policy implemented over 20 years based on a new vision that, first and foremost, aimed at minimizing all drug-related problems through a broad harm reduction approach. Two main big changes were introduced that expressed a true cultural shift on how the country was viewing the problem. One, the focus moved to drug users and to give them the opportunity to be taken care of in a holistic and comprehensive way by the relevant health and social care professionals. And two, the whole issue of drug use offenses was basically removed from the framework of the criminal law and the criminal justice system. While consuming drugs or possession of small quantities remained an offense subject to administrative or civil sanctions, drug users were no more jailed or treated as criminals. This new bold humanistic, pragmatic approach clearly paid off as it led to the following results. Let me just identify them. First, the number of drug users decreased. Second, the number of drug users went into voluntary treatment increased. Third, the number of newly reported cases of HIV and AIDS among drug addicts had declined substantially every year since 2001, for a drug-related mortality rates have decreased as well. This success story allows us to strongly make the case for change in drug policy that put public health, community safety, and human rights first. This is all about the key policy shifts that the Global Commission on Drugs Policy has been advocating significant creation in 2011. I mean, putting people's health and safety first, ending the criminalization and incarceration of people using drugs. Three, changing enforcement responses to drug trafficking and organized crime. And four, countering prejudices about people who use drugs, thus addressing world drug perception-related problems. Properly regulate drug markets to put governments back in control and call for a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to redesigning drug control policies. Ladies and gentlemen and dear friends, please make no mistake, successes are not timeless. What was innovative in the past and produced change for the better has to be kept under permanent scrutiny, evaluation, and review. Public policies have to adapt to new trends and address emerging and long-term challenges. They have to adjust and improve conceptual frameworks, approaches, and tools. There is no time to rest on one's laurels. All countries, all cities, all communities can do more and better to make public policies of harm reduction move forward to fully realize access and coverage for all. Early joint efforts and collaborative action at all levels, international, regional, national, and local levels, bringing together all sorts of players and constituencies, central and local governments, civil society organizations, patient groups can, in fact, bring change on the ground. Let's not give up, as there is still a long way to achieve legal regulation of all drugs according to their potential harms. Against this backdrop, harm reduction would be much easier and would provide public policy with more solid foundations. In this journey, those countries that are more advanced hold more responsibilities, not only with the view to consolidating their achievements, anticipating new challenges, and remaining at the forefront of innovation, but also as drivers of change across the world. Ladies and gentlemen, in this regard, let me draw your attention to the upcoming report of the Global Commission on Drug Policy that will be launched on 25 June in Lisbon. For the very first time, this report will challenge the international classification of drugs, showing that it has little or no correlation to their scientifically assessed harms. Yet, as we all know, it has been playing a large role in shaping current perceptions of drugs and their potential dangers. It is time to turn the tide. A non-sigmatizing and evidence-based drug scheduling system can influence and guide people to make more responsible and less harmful choices. Therefore, ladies and gentlemen, to develop further a credible drug strategy, a new step ahead has to be made, one that will use rational evidence for the assessment of the harms of drugs. Without any doubt, this is the way forward. Let's work, plan, and act together to make it happen and spark sustainable change. I wish you well. Thank you very much.