Vancouver's supervised injection facility challenges Canada's drug laws

Public Health Understandings of Policy and Power: Lessons from INSITE

“…This was in addition to the exponential growth in deaths from illegal drugs in British Columbia during the early 1990s the majority of which occurred in the City of Vancouver, almost all associated with heroin. 5 The official response took several forms including a report by the Chief Coroner that called for the legalization and decriminalization of drugs and a shift from seeing drug use as a matter of crime and more as a matter of health. Yet, the public health challenge continued to grow through the 1990s and became more complex as injection drug use became the leading cause of new HIV infections.…”

“…6 This led to the decision by the Chief Medical Health Officer in Vancouver to declare a public health emergency in the DES in September 1997 and, less than a year later, a report by the provincial health officer for the Government of British Columbia calling for the implementation of harm reduction initiatives. 5,7 Eventually, mortality and morbidity associated with injection drug use became a high-profile political issue, and harm reduction became part of the strategies endorsed and funded by the local, provincial and, for a time, federal governments. Following the lead of the City of Vancouver, all governments agreed to make harm reduction one of four pillars of their drug strategy.…”

“…Following the lead of the City of Vancouver, all governments agreed to make harm reduction one of four pillars of their drug strategy. 5,7,8 In addition to more formal political change, community efforts to address the growing incidence of HIV and deaths associated with injection drug use were also growing. Community groups expanded their efforts to both raise public awareness and understanding as well as put pressure on governments to take action.…”

Keeping science’s seat at the decision-making table: Mechanisms to motivate policy-makers to keep using scientific information in the age of disinformation

“…FACETS | 2017 | 2: 1045-1064 | DOI: 10.1139/facets-2017-0087 1047 facetsjournal.com combat the drug overdose and HIV/AIDS crises in Vancouver, British Columbia (Dooling and Rachlis 2010). Safe injection sites are based upon the principle of harm reduction, and Insite provides access to clean needles, medical supervision, and treatment programs to reduce overdose deaths and the spread of infectious diseases (Dooling and Rachlis 2010).…”

“…Safe injection sites are based upon the principle of harm reduction, and Insite provides access to clean needles, medical supervision, and treatment programs to reduce overdose deaths and the spread of infectious diseases (Dooling and Rachlis 2010). In 2003, Liberal Health Minister Anne McLellan used her ministerial discretion in section 56 of the Controlled Drug and Substance Act to grant a temporary three-year exemption to Insite from drug possession and trafficking penalties to allow scientific evaluation of a safe injection site in Canada (Dooling and Rachlis 2010).…”