Injection site dramatically curbs overdose deaths

The Toronto Star:

Deaths from drug overdose dropped dramatically in Vancouver’s troubled Downtown Eastside after Insite, Canada’s only supervised injection site, opened in 2003, according to major new research on the controversial facility.

Vancouver’s mayor and public health experts say the body of research on Insite, further supported by the overdose findings, makes it clear that Toronto could benefit from a supervised consumption facility.

The study shows overdose deaths declined by 35 per cent after Insite opened its doors, a finding that experts say answers the final key question of whether the facility provides public health and community benefit. Previous studies have shown Insite has, among other things, got drug use off city streets, saved the health-care system millions of dollars and reduced the spread of infectious disease, including HIV.

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