All safe consumption sites should receive government funding for supervised inhalation. This way, the growing number of people who inhale substances will be closer to the help they need in case of drug poisoning. They’ll also have access to detox, treatment and other health care and social resources.
Canada is experiencing a toxic drug poisoning crisis, exacerbated by simultaneous mental health and housing crises. Numbers of fatal drug poisonings have increased dramatically since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2023 alone, Canada saw more than 8,000 opioid toxicity deaths. The instability of the street-based drug supply complicates how someone responds to a drug poisoning, contributing to higher fatality rates when people use illicit substances.
