Permanent drug-inhalation site opens in Victoria
CTV
A permanent drug-inhalation site has opened in downtown Victoria, in what health authorities say is the first indoor facility of its kind in North America.
A permanent drug-inhalation site has opened in downtown Victoria, in what health authorities say is the first indoor facility of its kind in North America.
The fully enclosed inhalation site at 941 Pandora Ave. replaces a temporary inhalation site which has operated across the street at 926 Pandora Ave. since November 2021.
Health authorities say the new service is in response to the growing number of fatalities reported among drug-users who smoke.
"The unpredictable poisoned drug supply continues to take lives at a tragic, unacceptable rate across B.C., including in Victoria,” Jennifer Whiteside, B.C.'s minister of mental health and addictions, said in a statement Thursday.
"More than half of the people who are dying consumed toxic drugs by smoking. This indoor inhalation service is part of our government's plan to continue increasing access to life-saving services and connecting more people to care."
Approximately 2,039 British Columbians died of toxic drugs in the first 10 months of the year, including 130 people in Greater Victoria, according to the latest data from the B.C. Coroners Service.
The permanent inhalation site is located alongside the Harbour safe-consumption site as part of a broader treatment and recovery centre that local health officials envision for the location.
