Advocates urge Ontario to boost support for supervised drug sites

Advocates and people who use drugs are demanding the Ontario government step up its support for supervised consumption sites, which they say must go hand in hand with treatment programs.

On Tuesday, frontline workers and the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) held a rally at Queen's Park, angry that some sites have closed or may have to due to a lack of funding.

Iyee Saneeh told the crowd at the event that she's over 50 days sober from fentanyl after using it for seven years. She says staff at a consumption site encouraged her to quit and enter treatment.

"They saved my life for long enough to get me into a treatment program, without which I very well may not still be alive," she said.

In an interview with CBC Toronto, Saneeh said both consumption sites and treatment centres should be supported by all levels of government.

"There shouldn't be one or the other." 

Her comments come almost two weeks after Premier Doug Ford asked Ottawa to end approvals for safe drug supply sites. Ford's government has also said it intends to enact "enhanced accountability measures" for existing supervised consumption sites following a recent review. Health Canada has said the sites help prevent overdoses, ultimately saving lives and connecting drug users to other health and social services. 

Advocate and researchers say treatment centres alone can't replace consumption sites, and that the two work together.

A joint report released in March, led by the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network and Public Health Ontario, shows most people who died from toxic drugs had low engagement with treatment services.

Dr. Alexander Caudarella, the CEO of the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, says one major issue with treatment facilities is that they're disconnected from harm-reduction services, such as consumption sites, and the broader health-care system.

"It's all left up to the individual, the person who's suffering the most at the end of the day, to navigate the system. We wouldn't tolerate that with any other aspect of the health-care system," he said.

Another problem are waitlists. People can be left waiting days, weeks or even months for a spot, depending on their situation, Caudarella said. 

"On one given day, from one to another, somebody might be very interested in changing the drug use, and on the next, they are less certain about it," he said. "We need to be able to capture people at the moments when they need most."

Costs can also be a prohibitive factor for those seeking immediate access to a private facility.