Drug users call for more supervised injection sites during fentanyl crisis

Despite the declaration of a public health emergency in B.C., opioid overdose deaths are not going downand and advocacy groups for current and former drug users wantaction.

Laura Shaver, president of the B.C. Association of People On Methadone, says the best solution to the problem is more supervised injection sitesand she wants to know what's taking so long.

"We don't need any more data.We don't need any more research," she told On The Coast host Stephen Quinn

"What we need is ... [to] give some healthcare funding to open some more sites, so we can save lives."

• Fentanyl overdose epidemic spurs call for safe injection sites across B.C.
• Overdose deaths up from 40 a month in 2015 to 64 a month this year
• Increase in overdose deaths prompts B.C. to declare public health emergency

Shaver and others, including the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU),marched on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside Wednesdayto demand action.

They called on the federal government to permitmore special exemptionsto the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to allowan increase in the number of supervised injection sites.

Shaver fears there could be up to 800 overdose deaths in 2016 after the 474 in 2015and says supervised injection services are a proven model that could reverse that trend.

Health authorities also call for more services

Shaver is not alone in calling for more supervised injection services in B.C.

Health authorities on theLower Mainland, Vancouver Island and the Interiorhave either called for more services in their jurisdictions or expressed interest in such services.

However, Provincial Health OfficerDr. Perry Kendall said last weekthat getting formal federal approval for such facilities is extremely difficult without the repeal of the Respect for Communities Act enacted by the federal government in 2015.

As an alternative, Kendall said, "if you have enough naloxone kits in a shelter or subsidized housing where you knew you had an issue with overdoses, you could be providing, as it were, a very low barrier supervised consumption site."

"If you're injecting with somebody who does have a naloxone kit, then they are in some respects just monitoring your health and if they need to they can deliver the naloxone," Kendall said. "So that's a strategy that we're pursuing as well."

With files from CBC Radio One's On The Coast

To hear the full story, click the audio labelled:Fearing even more OD deaths, methadone users call for more supervised injection sites