Study touts local supervised injection site’s benefits
Posted March 14, 2014 11:50 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – These are uncertain times for a Vancouver-based supervised injection site and its backers are now out with a study promoting its benefits.
This comes as the service for HIV-positive drug users waits to hear from Ottawa about its future.
Dr. Will Small, the study’s senior author, argues that without the site at the Dr. Peter Centre Residence, the health of those who use it would deteriorate.
“If they did not have those services, we would see worse outcomes and they would have more problems related to their HIV,” he claims.
Small maintains the harm reduction approach works.
“Drug users usually encounter barriers to accessing care and in-patient services and, in this instance, we’re finding the harm reduction approach is not only reducing drug-related harm like overdoses, but also improving access to life-saving treatment.”
Vancouver Coastal Health is waiting for permission from the feds to continue operating the supervised injection site. The Harper government has not been friendly to the harm reduction measure so far.
