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- It is the eleventh plan that promotes the city from 1987 and is divided into five main axes that are specified in almost 150 objectives that will be developed between 2025-2028
- The new strategy stands out for the introduction of main governmental objectives, which are a novelty of this plan and are characterized by the requirements of political and management consensus and maximum shared responsibility of various institutional and social agents.
- It also incorporates the novelty of the gender perspective and intersectionality as a transversal axis, recognizing that gender, economic, or origin inequalities have an impact on problem consumption and access to services.
- It also reinforces support for families and enhances the drug guidance service, a free helpline for advice and care for adolescents and youth
Barcelona defined the proposal of the new Drug and Addiction Action Plan 2025-2028. The main objective is to make it a healthier inequality with fewer disparities by promoting drug and addiction policies. Among the priorities of the new strategy is the proposal of a city agreement to address alcohol consumption for prevention, reduce accessibility and availability by controlling and advertising, and creating healthy leisure alternatives.
Alcohol triggers half of the initiation of substance use treatment in the city, both in women and men. Additionally, according to the latest health survey in Barcelona (ESB 2021), 54.9% of women and 75.7% of men consumed it in the last month. On the other hand, risky consumption (17 or more weekly units in women and 28 or more in men) increased (5 or more consumptions continued more than once a month) in terms of the previous survey. Therefore, in 2021, 7.9% of women and 14.1% of men had risky consumption, while in 2016 the percentages were 4.2% and 9% respectively. Compulsive consumption increased from 3.3% in women and 8.3% in men to 6.9% and 13.2% respectively.
For the Health Councilor, Marta Villanueva, this plan, the first after the Covid pandemic, «aims to move towards a healthier, inclusive, and fair city, focused on prevention, treatment, and harm reduction.» «A consensus plan,» said the councilor, which «takes into account social changes and adapts to new consumption patterns and emerging phenomena in an increasingly complex reality, such as the persistence of alcohol consumption, cannabinoid consumption.»
The new drug plan is used to promote health, prevention, treatment, and harm reduction with a gender, intersectional, and equity cross-cutting perspective. It is also worth noting the proposal for the city’s focus, including the so-called governmental objectives, which require consensus, coordination, involvement, and responsibility of different administrations and various institutional and social agents.
Five major axes
The Drug Action Plan 2025-2028 (PADAB 2025-28) is the eleventh one that promotes the city from 1987 and is divided into five main axes specified in almost 150 objectives. The main strategic lines of the plan emphasize the promotion of environmental measures, reducing opportunities to consume alcohol or other drugs or stimulants; promoting the prevention of drug consumption and addictions in different community fields; maintaining and improving the quality of medical care, health, and social network and the comprehensive and equitable addiction care model; reducing stigma and promoting social inclusion in an inclusive community; and strengthening monitoring and tracking of drug consumption to advance and adapt to future needs.
The new drug and addiction strategy was developed through a participatory process materialized in different co-creation spaces, such as conferences, work sessions, or discussion groups in which nearly 300 people participated, including professionals from different fields, politicians, and citizens. This process was led by the Barcelona Public Health Agency (ASPB) and various areas and bodies of the Barcelona City Council and generalized by Catalonia, the health consortium in Barcelona, and the deputy director general for addictions, HIV, listening, and viral health in general, among others. The drug addiction group of the Municipal Social Assistance Council was also involved, representing the main entities of the third sector working in the field of drugs.
Adapting to new challenges and consumption
In almost 40 years of journey, the drug and addiction strategy in Barcelona has adapted to respond to the new challenges of a complex and changing reality. An example is behavioral addictions, such as those related to new technologies or the Chemsex game (Sexualized consumption of psychoactive substances).
For this reason, the new plan aims to respond to emerging new realities and concrete actions, such as consolidating monitoring and strengthening early control systems, developing preventive actions, adapting supervised consumption spaces and post-consumption according to consumer needs, as well as promoting programs to address emerging challenges.
Involvement and support for families, a key aspect
Addictions not only have a negative impact on the individuals suffering from them but also on their families. Additionally, families play a key role in prevention as the primary space for socialization and as key educational agents. Therefore, the new PADAB 2025-28 recognizes this role and promotes specific support, guidance, and support. A need that has been confirmed in the different co-creation spaces with professionals and citizens alike.
Therefore, the new plan includes actions such as creating and disseminating the map of preventive and care resources for drugs and addictions, working with family associations (AFA) and other resources for families or providing support to mutual support groups aimed at individuals with problematic alcohol and other drug consumption, as well as families of Teir, as well as their families, in addition to other families.
It also reinforces and enhances the Drug Guidance Service (SOD), a free reference for adolescents and young people under 21 and their families offering guidance on substance use and problematic use of technologies. SOD also responds to families of adolescents and youth who approach on their own. In these cases, SOD provides tools to work on the family environment, helps manage anxiety and concerns, and provides guidance to identify warning signs and know how to act in risky situations.
Visiting women and vulnerable groups in all drug and addiction policies
The new drug and addiction plan places the gender perspective as a cross-cutting and priority axis, visible as one of the main sources of inequality that has an impact on the health and well-being of individuals with drug or addiction problems. Additionally, it adds the concept of intersectionality that allows understanding and explaining how gender, place of origin, age, sexual orientation, or social class, among others, interact with the multiplication of many inequalities that impact health. Therefore, it proposes that a novelty inserts this aspect throughout the plan to provide a fair and efficient response to different realities, including those of vulnerable groups.
In this sense, it proposes the need to consider aspects such as gender roles assigned by social norms, the use of spaces associated with consumption and stigma according to gender, in the design and implementation of prevention policies, programs, and interventions, as well as to improve access to medical care and the social network of individuals in vulnerability, including women.