Primary Country (Mandatory)

United States

Other Country (Optional)

Set News Language for United States

Primary Language (Mandatory)
English
Other Language[s] (Optional)
No other language available

Set News Language for World

Primary Language (Mandatory)
English
Other Language(s) (Optional)

Set News Source for United States

Primary Source (Mandatory)
CNN
Other Source[s] (Optional)

Set News Source for World

Primary Source (Mandatory)
AajTak
Other Source(s) (Optional)
  • Countries
    • India
    • United States
    • Qatar
    • Germany
    • China
    • Canada
    • World
  • Categories
    • National
    • International
    • Business
    • Entertainment
    • Sports
    • Special
    • All Categories
  • Available Languages for United States
    • English
  • All Languages
    • English
    • Hindi
    • Arabic
    • German
    • Chinese
    • French
  • Sources
    • India
      • AajTak
      • NDTV India
      • The Hindu
      • India Today
      • Zee News
      • NDTV
      • BBC
      • The Wire
      • News18
      • News 24
      • The Quint
      • ABP News
      • Zee News
      • News 24
    • United States
      • CNN
      • Fox News
      • Al Jazeera
      • CBSN
      • NY Post
      • Voice of America
      • The New York Times
      • HuffPost
      • ABC News
      • Newsy
    • Qatar
      • Al Jazeera
      • Al Arab
      • The Peninsula
      • Gulf Times
      • Al Sharq
      • Qatar Tribune
      • Al Raya
      • Lusail
    • Germany
      • DW
      • ZDF
      • ProSieben
      • RTL
      • n-tv
      • Die Welt
      • Süddeutsche Zeitung
      • Frankfurter Rundschau
    • China
      • China Daily
      • BBC
      • The New York Times
      • Voice of America
      • Beijing Daily
      • The Epoch Times
      • Ta Kung Pao
      • Xinmin Evening News
    • Canada
      • CBC
      • Radio-Canada
      • CTV
      • TVA Nouvelles
      • Le Journal de Montréal
      • Global News
      • BNN Bloomberg
      • Métro
Motorized Rotating Display Stand for Jewelry Buy Now
Women's Chiffon Blouse Buy Now
Vintage Round Sunglasses for Women Buy Now
COOFANDY Mens Short Sleeve Shirts Buy Now
JMIERR Men's Casual Shorts Buy Now
SAMSUNG Galaxy Tab S6 Lite 10.4 Buy Now
Women's Active Mini Dress Buy Now
4K Dual Screen Camera with 18X Zoom Buy Now
Men's Linen Casual Long Pants Buy Now
OLEVS Mens Big Face Watch Buy Now
Slim RFID Aluminum Card Wallet Buy Now
RUNBOX Slim RFID Leather Wallet Buy Now
OLOV Electric Body Hair Trimmer Buy Now
Basics Household Tool Kit With Storage Case Buy Now
Saneen Digital 4k Cameras for Photography Buy Now
CRZ Yoga Butterluxe Leggings Buy Now
Musey Yoga Tank Top Buy Now
High-Waisted Workout Leggings Buy Now
HD Sound Bluetooth Speaker Buy Now
Levi's Women's Mid Length Shorts Buy Now
MoreBack to News Headlines
Supervised inhalation sites take surprising forms in B.C. amid challenges setting them up

Supervised inhalation sites take surprising forms in B.C. amid challenges setting them up

CBC
Friday, April 28, 2023 1:34 PM GMT

A glass enclosure that looks like a bus stop. A repurposed ice-fishing tent in a car park.

While they might look trivial in the face of a mounting toxic drug crisis, these consumption sites designed for smoking substances are saving lives, overdose prevention workers say — and are doing so despite the financial and bureaucratic challenges setting them up.

Almost 5,000 people have died from toxic drugs in British Columbia in the past two years alone, according to the provincial coroners' service. 

At least half of them were smoking the substances that killed them — and that proportion is growing, says Jordan Stewart, executive director of the Pounds Project.

The overdose prevention service in Prince George, B.C., currently offers supervised injection services, and Stewart says it now has support for an outdoor space that includes a small shed dedicated to smoking. When established, it will be the first official supervised inhalation site in the city in two years. 

Stewart says there are many reasons people prefer inhaling drugs. There is less risk of infection compared to injecting, it's easier to conceal and use and quicker to prepare. 

"Unfortunately, the overdose risk remains exactly the same," she said. 

But health officials, as well as advocates, say it's taking too long for supervised inhalation sites to be set up in response to that reality and that they remain few and far between in many parts of the province. 

Dr. Jong Kim, chief medical health officer for Northern Health, says that's due in part to the initial strategy in dealing with the crisis when a public health emergency was declared in 2016.

"At the beginning, one of the main focuses was ensuring naloxone was more broadly available ... not necessarily safe consumption, but harm reduction," Kim said. 

Yet, as far back as 2017, smoking was the mode of consuming substances that most often led to death, according to the B.C. Coroners Service. 

In a written response, the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions says it knows there's "more to do, and won't stop working until all British Columbians can access the supports they need and deserve."

In the meantime, some service providers are getting creative. 

Behind the Cowichan Valley Wellness and Recovery Centre, a boxy brown building at the edge of downtown Duncan, B.C., is a structure that could be mistaken for an out-of-place bus stop.

Read full story on CBC
Share this story on:-
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running GamePlay Run 3, the ultimate space tunnel running game with 300+ challenging levels!Adv.
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing GameTraffic Jam 3D is a game where you’ll be driving through heavy traffic.Adv.
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic GamePlay the classic 1984 light gun shooter game Duck Hunt on your browser.Adv.
More Related News
New rules see province screening sex education resources before they hit classrooms

Alberta school leaders and groups that deliver school sex education presentations are preparing for new rules taking effect this fall that require the government to first vet all information.

This U.S. doctor is making the move to B.C. — here's why

For one Canadian-born doctor, who has been practicing family medicine in Colorado for the last six years, his next career move is a sort of homecoming.

Gen Z is facing the worst youth unemployment rate in decades. Here is how it's different

Graduation cap in hand, Sarah Chung is posing for photos in school regalia ahead of her convocation ceremony. The campus atmosphere is joyful, but what comes next is sobering: this honours student is graduating into one of the worst youth labour markets seen in decades.

Sandy Lake residents evacuated to Cornwall can't wait to go home

Coun. Allan Rae of the Sandy Lake First Nation is 1,600 kilometres from home and worried about his wife and two children.

Male shot by police after allegedly attacking woman in Markham: York police

A male was shot by police in Markham early Wednesday morning after officers responded to a welfare check call, York Regional Police say. 

Family has not given up hope that Indigenous woman who disappeared in Barrie will be found

Family members of an Indigenous woman who went missing in Barrie, Ont., two years ago say they have never given up hope of finding her.

Stratford townhouse proposal would be destructive to wetland, nearby residents warn

Some residents of Stratford are calling on the P.E.I. town's council to postpone a vote on a rezoning application, fearing it will destroy a wetland in their neighbourhood.

N.W.T. officials provide update on major infrastructure projects, and some rising costs

The Northwest Territories government says construction on two of its biggest infrastructure projects could start by 2028, and that one of those projects is now expected to cost more than $2 billion.

15 senators took a $118K trip to Alberta. Some colleagues question its relevance

The initiative was launched by Alberta Sen. Scott Tannas. In May 2024, he sent a message to his colleagues in the upper chamber inviting them on what he called a "familiarization tour" of his province.

High-tech housing project to share site with controversial First Nation grow op

A federal government agency is funding an experimental housing project on the site of a controversial, large-scale marijuana grow op in the Haudenosaunee community of Six Nations in southwest Ontario.  

Meet 'Project Ontario,' pushing Doug Ford's PCs to be more fiscally conservative

There's a mysterious move afoot to push Premier Doug Ford's Ontario PC government to adopt more fiscally conservative policies.

Abandoned St. Mary's fish sauce plant finally getting cleaned up, says mayor

After years of calling for the clean up at a long-abandoned fish sauce plant, the mayor of St. Mary's is celebrating that the end is finally in sight — something he says he once doubted would ever happen.

Halifax mayor's move to pause bike lane construction defeated

Halifax will continue to move ahead with its bike network after councillors voted 12-5 to defeat a motion by the mayor asking to temporarily pause awarding new design and construction contracts for bike lanes.

Parking Slot | Free Parking GamePlay Parking Slot, the best online 3D car driving and parking game.Adv.
Slope Ball Run - Play OnlineSlope Game takes you on an exciting journey of a ball on special paths.Adv.
Toronto woman accused of killing 3 people in 3 days fit to stand trial, judge rules

An Ontario judge has ruled that a Toronto woman accused of killing three people in three Ontario cities last year is now fit to stand trial. 

Ottawa and Washington exchange document outlining possible terms of deal: sources

In a sign that Canada and the U.S. are making progress toward some sort of trade agreement, CBC News and Radio-Canada have learned about the existence of a working document outlining details of a potential deal.

Charlottetown Farmers' Market warns local businesses of email scam targeting vendors

The Charlottetown Farmers' Market is warning local businesses that someone is impersonating the market's email account in an attempt to run a scam.

Smoke blankets Calgary area as air quality warning urges caution

The wildfire-induced smoke currently blanketing the Calgary area, is so bad Environment Canada is telling people to go back inside, in an air quality warning issued early Wednesday.

You'll soon need an access card to dump bulk waste in eastern Newfoundland

The old-fashioned clipboard and pen is slowly being replaced at the entrance to waste recovery facilities in eastern Newfoundland, as the board running the sites implements an access card system so it can collect better data on who's using the facilities, and what they're dropping off.

'They're really harmless': Tent caterpillar population explodes in northeastern Ontario

Sudbury and many other parts of northeastern Ontario are at the centre of an outbreak of tent caterpillars, as the insects' population has exploded.

How close are we to getting a vaccine for Lyme disease?

Diana Moser has, to the best of her knowledge, not contracted Lyme disease, a welcome status quo that might be credited to the tick-repellant clothing she wears in the yard of her East LaHave, N.S., home, or to the insect spray she squirts on herself, or to just plain-old luck.

Fredericton parents fighting $125 parking ticket at youth football practice

Jillian and Jody Shealy have spent the past two decades cheering their kids on from the sidelines of just about every sport that's offered in the city, taking them to rinks, fields and arenas across the greater Fredericton area.

Mother and 3-year-old son drown in home pool in Lachine, Montreal police say

A mother and her three-year-old are dead after drowning in a pool inside a residence in the city's Lachine borough.

A website claims wildfire destroyed a single mom's clothing warehouse. But the store doesn't exist

The city of Flin Flon in northwestern Manitoba has faced wildfires and a massive evacuation — and now a fake online site has popped up claiming a clothing warehouse in the city burned down, and the single-mom owner has to sell off what's left.

La Ronge evacuees to begin returning home Thursday

Some people forced from their homes by wildfires in northern Saskatchewan will soon start making their way home, as conditions improve in the La Ronge area.

Chiropractor says being able to order X-rays is paring redundancy from P.E.I. medical system

After a long wait, chiropractors practising on Prince Edward Island are now able to order X-rays to help them diagnose and treat patients.

© 2008 - 2025 Webjosh  |  News Archive  |  Privacy Policy  |  Contact Us