Another overdose prevention site opens

VANCOUVER —Another overdose prevention site has opened in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside in an effort to relieve pressure on two nearby sites that have had 120,000 visits since last December.

The Molson site, named after the former Molson Bank Building where it’s located, will be the seventh overdose prevention facility in the few blocks that make up the impoverished neighbourhood.

B.C. Addictions Minister Judy Darcy says in a news release there is a great need for each of the sites, which record a total of about 700 visits every day.

Dr. Patricia Daly, Vancouver’s chief medical health officer, says many of the services are being led by peers, people who have real-life experience with substance use.