Since 2016, more than 32,000 Canadians have died from drug overdoses. In response to this overdose epidemic, several provinces have established Supervised Consumption Sites (SCS), which provide people who use drugs with a safe space to administer drugs under the supervision of trained staff.
The term people who use drugs is used to affirm people’s humanity instead of defining them by their drug use. Person-centred language helps reduce stigma and discrimination which in turn can encourage people who use drugs to seek out harm reduction services.
