New supervised drug sites in Vancouver, Surrey get go-ahead

OTTAWA — Health Canada has approved plans to create four new supervised consumption sites in B.C, and Quebec, but some health officials say the approvals fall short of meeting the needs in communities devastated by overdose deaths.

A statement from Health Minister Jane Philpott on Friday said the approval of the sites is one step in combating the ongoing illicit opioid “overdose epidemic” gripping the country.

The sites allow people to use illicit drugs under the supervision of a medical professional in case they overdose.

But at a conference in Vancouver, health officials said restrictions mean only people who inject drugs can receive supervision, not those who use drugs in other forms.

“From a medical health and public health perspective, all modes of consumption can be dangerous and should be supervised. So it’s incomprehensible to me that there would currently be this restriction,” said Dr. Perry Kendall, B.C.’s chief provincial health officer.

Two of the new sites are in Surrey, one is in Vancouver and a mobile consumption site has been approved to operate in Montreal.

Vancouver Coastal Health chief medical health officer Dr. Patricia Daly said existing overdose prevention sites support people who ingest drugs in many forms, including orally.

More than 1,200 people died of overdoses in B.C. in 2016 and the first three months of 2017.