Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell says Canada’s first safe-injection site for drug addicts will be opened in Vancouver with federal approval by late February or early March. Mayor Campbell was elected on a harm reduction platform and succeeds outgoing Mayor Philip Owen, an outspoken proponent of public health alternatives to the drug war. Campbell made the comment after a two-day meeting with Health Canada officials to discuss draft guidelines for what would be the first safe-injection sites in North America. Campbell said all indications are that no major barriers will prevent a Vancouver team of health and science agencies from putting in a proposal in the first week of January and getting approval within the 60 days required by Health Canada.

Safer injection rooms are legally sanctioned, supervised facilities designed to reduce the health and public order problems associated with illegal injection drug use. Safe injection rooms typically provide sterile injection equipment, information about drugs and health care, treatment referrals, and access to medical staff. The Vancouver site will likely include a room where addicts can inject drugs under the supervision of medical staff and with clean needles, spoons and water. It will also have a medical clinic for treatment of addiction-related health problems like abscesses and other infections, a counseling department for referrals to detox and treatment programs, and other associated services. There are currently 48 safe-injection sites around the world, all but one of them in Europe. A pilot safe injection room is currently underway in Sydney, Australia.

To learn more about safe-injection sites please visit: Reducing Harm: Treatment and Beyond: Safer Injection Rooms.