Health & Education · Albufeira, Loulé, and Portalegre
Portuguese pharmacies to begin dispensing methadone on Sunday, 1 November
The programme starts in seven municipalities, among them Albufeira and Portalegre, and is planned to expand across the country. Access is reserved for opioid-dependent people already referred into treatment, and pharmacies will work alongside their clinical teams.
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In brief
Community pharmacies begin dispensing methadone on 1 November 2026 in seven municipalities, including Albufeira and Portalegre, with national expansion planned.
Only people with opioid dependence who have been referred into treatment can receive methadone, in coordination with their clinical teams, according to the promoters led by ICAD president Joana Teixeira.
ICAD reported about 24,100 people in the public outpatient network for drug-related problems in 2024, with heroin identified in more than 13,200 cases.
- 2012Pharmacy methadone dispensing discontinued during the troika intervention
- 1 NovDispensing starts in seven municipalities
What starts on 1 November
Community pharmacies in Portugal will begin dispensing methadone for the treatment of opioid dependence on Sunday, 1 November 2026. For now the programme covers seven municipalities: Albufeira, Loulé, Portalegre, Portimão, São Brás de Alportel, Santiago do Cacém and Vila do Bispo. The promoters intend to extend it progressively across the country. Access is limited to people who have been referred into treatment, and dispensing is coordinated with the clinical teams that follow them.
Who is behind the programme
The Programme for Treatment of Opioid Dependence with Methadone Hydrochloride in Community Pharmacies is run by the Institute for Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies (ICAD), together with INFARMED, the National Association of Pharmacies (ANF), the Association of Pharmacies of Portugal (AFP) and the Portuguese Order of Pharmacists. Joana Teixeira, president of ICAD, cited figures from the public outpatient network, which treated about 24,100 people in 2024 for drug-related problems. Heroin was the main substance identified, in more than 13,200 of those cases.
Why pharmacies
ANF president Ema Paulino said dependencies require qualified, humanised responses centred on people, and that community pharmacies already take part in several prevention and addiction initiatives. She argued that treatment in a pharmacy could help reduce stigma:
“The possibility of carrying out treatment at the pharmacy, with privacy and confidentiality, can help reduce stigma and make a concrete difference in continuity of care.”
The promoters say the arrangement cuts travel and encourages adherence, while the reserved setting protects privacy, confidentiality and dignity. Rui Santos Ivo, president of INFARMED's governing board, said the programme strengthens access to health care and brings responses closer to citizens' needs. INFARMED will oversee regulatory follow-up and the conditions under which the methadone is dispensed.
Background and timing
The plan was first announced more than a year ago. Dispensing methadone in pharmacies had been discontinued in 2012, during the troika intervention in Portugal, and the start now follows completion of training for the pharmacists involved. Pharmacies hope the arrangement could open the way to other partnerships.
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Sources and context
- SAPOPortuguese pharmacies begin dispensing methadoneFarmácias portuguesas iniciam dispensação de metadona · original in Portuguese
- Diário de NotíciasPharmacies return to dispensing methadone starting SundayFarmácias voltam a disponibilizar metadona a partir de domingo · original in Portuguese
- PÚBLICOAfter 14 years, methadone dispensing returns to pharmacies -- but for now only in three regionsDepois de 14 anos, dispensa de metadona regressa às farmácias -- mas para já só em três regiões · original in Portuguese
- SIC NotíciasPharmacies begin making methadone treatment availableFarmácias começam a disponibilizar tratamento com metadona · original in Portuguese
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