Pubdate: Thu, 24 Dec 2015
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Times Colonist
Contact:  http://www.timescolonist.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
Author: Bill Cleverley
Page: A3

COUNCILLOR PRESSES SUPERVISED SITES

Spike in Drug Overdoses Underscores Need for Managed Injection Sites, Alto Says

The recent spate of drug overdoses underscores the need for 
supervised-consumption services in the capital region, says Victoria 
Coun. Marianne Alto.

"The evidence points to this. In every city where there are such 
services, overdoses are extremely reduced, if not eliminated if you 
have this kind of service available," said Alto, who has been the 
council lead for the issue.

Authorities are sounding the alarm after at least 20 people in 
Victoria overdosed on illicit drugs in the past few days.

The city has long been working toward establishing supervised 
injection sites in co-operation with Island Health, Victoria police 
and YES2SCS - a community coalition in support of 
supervised-consumption services - with a view to having something in 
place in 2017.

Alto hopes the new federal government will remove obstacles. The 
Conservative government was steadfastly opposed to supervised-injection sites.

"We're hopeful now that the barriers that would have been ahead of us 
on the federal realm will be much smaller," Alto said.

"It certainly would seem that given all of the other things that the 
federal government has been moving on, that I would hope and I think 
it would be likely that the federal government would be more 
supportive of at least the conversation, if not the facilitation of 
the opening of supervised-consumption services," she said.

The B.C. Coroners Service has confirmed that a man found dead in the 
Johnson Street parkade on Sunday died of an overdose.

The Coroners Service is investigating two other potential drug 
overdose deaths in Greater Victoria in the past five days.

There have been dozens of suspected non-fatal overdoses in the same time frame.

Coroner Barb McLintock said the three drug fatalities over the course 
of 48 hours is unusual for Victoria.

Users have told authorities they thought they were only using heroin, 
and in other cases, only using methamphetamines.

"This suggests any drug supply may include fentanyl as well as more 
likely being a mixture of drugs," said Dr. Paul Hasselback, Island 
Health's medical health officer, in a statement.

The most likely sites for safe-consumption services in Victoria have 
been identified in the past as the Access Health Centre, 713 Johnson 
St., and Pembroke Services, 1125 Pembroke St. The two centres have 
been established as service hubs in the health authority's effort to 
help the hard-to-reach street population. Along with other health 
units and hospitals throughout the region, it has been distributing 
harm-reduction supplies such as clean needles.

Alto said it's too early to say where safe-consumption services would 
be located. She is convinced, however, that any safe consumption site 
should not be a stand-alone facility, but should be part of a 
facility offering a range of health services.

"I'm not anticipating any type of stand-alone facility that only does 
that. I think that all the evidence shows that the best type of 
supervised-consumption service is embedded in other supportive 
services, and that's because you want to make sure that that's not 
the only reason someone would go there. It may be the first reason 
but there should be a variety of other services available," she said.

In December 2012, Island Health, the city, police and social service 
providers announced plans to expand and enhance harm-reduction 
activities at both the Pembroke Sobering and Assessment Centre and 
the Access Health Centre on Johnson Street. The initiative was part 
of an effort to reach out to the 100 most vulnerable people in 
downtown Victoria.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom