Nantou County has turned 90 neighborhood pharmacies into drug-counseling points, a low-cost move that is already pulling addicted people toward treatment.

• The county health bureau signed up 90 community pharmacies as "anti-drug consultation stations."
• Pharmacists are trained to spot medicine misuse early and point people to addiction help.
• The pitch: many addicts avoid family and doctors out of shame, but will walk into a pharmacy.
• One young man buying needles and painkillers was encouraged by a pharmacist and later sought help from the health bureau, moving away from a high-risk life.
• Pharmacies work as trusted, everyday spots, so the anti-drug line moves earlier than hospitals or police.

Outlook: The county plans to recruit more pharmacies and widen the program's reach.