The recovery model of San Patrignano has been presented in the “First International Congress on drugs and addiction of ” Instituto Superio Ciências Educativas . Monica Barzanti , coordinator of the International Relations of the community , illustrated to the audience the experience of San Patrignano, continuing the important outreach work promoting the recovery approach of the community, today in Cascais, Portugal. The conference, promoted and organized by the township of Cascais, a town near Lisbon , has been organized by Manuel Pinto Coelho from Drug Free Portugal in partnership with Antonio Maria Costa , former director of UNODC , United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. San Patrignano described thier therapeutic program that has been implemented for years. Follow up research and data collected, have provided evidence based on results, providing a complete framework, on the effectiveness and efficacy of recovery from drug addiction. The Cascais meeting comes at a moment when Portugal faces an important debate about policies on psychoactive substances. In fact, recently, the Portuguese government ordered the closure of all smart shops . San Patrignano fully supports the Portuguese position, being aware of the problem with an increasing trend in the majority of European countries, posing serious risks especially for the young people. Portugal has put itself in the front line, as one of the main promoters counteracting the psychoactive substances, mainly known as “legal highs “, to support the direction endorsed by the European Commission under the leadership of the Vice-President and Commissioner Viviane Reding who has recently made a proposal to raise the European awareness against these substances.