B.C. opens sites similar to supervised-injection sites without federal exemption
VANCOUVER — British Columbia is opening new locations where people can inject illicit drugs while monitored by trained staff — but the province says it isn’t skirting the law on supervised-injection sites.
The province announced Thursday that its opioid overdose crisis has spurred it to establish three overdose-prevention sites in Vancouver, with more planned in Surrey and Victoria.
Teams of staff will provide people who use illegal drugs with a safe space to be monitored and, if needed, be administered with naloxone, which reverses the effects of opioid overdoses.
“People are dying. We can stop people dying. We’re going to take that action,” said provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall at a news conference.