Pubdate: Fri, 08 Apr 2016
Source: Ottawa Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2016 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact: http://www.ottawasun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.ottawasun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/329
Author: Andrew Duffy
Page: 8

TOP DOC OFFERS HIS INSIGHT

Levy Backs Safe Injection Program

Ottawa's medical officer of health says supervised injection services 
save lives.

Dr. Isra Levy issued a statement late Thursday in response to the 
roiling debate triggered by the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre's 
proposal to open a safe injection site in the basement of its 
downtown facility.

"Evidence has shown that supervised injection sites save lives and 
offer other positive impacts for affected individuals, their loved 
ones and the community at large," Levy wrote. "They must be 
considered as part of any comprehensive approach in working and 
treating people who inject drugs."

Although the city's top medical official stopped short of endorsing 
the Sandy Hill proposal, Levy said Ottawa Public Health will review 
the plan and work with decision makers and local residents to "ensure 
the broader public health perspective is considered."

Levy said he takes seriously "legitimate concerns" about public 
safety, and he stressed that any plan for an injection service needs 
to ensure it employs the right model for the drug issues in this city.

As many as 5,000 injection drug users live in Ottawa, he said, and 
about 40 people die each year from unintended overdoses. That means, 
Levy said, that as many people die from overdoses as homicide and 
traffic accidents combined.

"In many cases, these overdose deaths are preventable and the problem 
isn't going away," said Levy, who noted that emergency room visits 
caused by drug overdoses

An injection kit is shown at Insite, a safe injection facility in 
Vancouver. Ottawa is debating whether to allow an Insite facility. 
have increased more than 80 per cent during the past seven years.

A safe injection site, he said, would give drug users a hygienic 
place to consume drugs under the supervision of a trained staff, 
while also serving as a bridge to medical treatment, counselling, 
detox and income support programs.

Ottawa Public Health last year distributed 775,000 needles and other 
safety supplies to local drug users as part of its own harm reduction program.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom