Hamilton board of health considers supervised injection sites for drug users

Hamilton's board of health isconsideringestablishing supervised injection sites and expanding itsnaloxoneprogram, a combined$500,000 effortto curbthe number of drug overdose deathsin the city.

The boardon Mondaywill debate putting $250,000 in next year's budget to look at supervised injection sites for drug users. Itwill also debate spending $260,956 more to expand the distribution of naloxone, which has prevented 116 deaths from opioid overdose in Hamilton since 2014.

Both ideas signal increased attention on the philosophy of harm reduction for drug users, who accounted for 795 emergency room visits and 120 hospitaladmissions for overdoses in the first six months of this year.

Matthew Green, Ward 3 councillor, described the need when he introduced the naloxone motion in June.

"I see addictions face to face in my ward," he said then. "I know how it affects people. I know how it affects the families of addicts."

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Green said on Friday that he'd rather see a more definitive move forward on the supervised injection sites, rather than having them measuredagainst other needs at budget time.

"Maybe I'm not as patient as I should be," he said."I'd like to see, with issues of health policy, particularly life and death scenarios, usmake those decisions through a health lens and not a budget lens."

If Hamilton eventually opens supervised injection sites, it will join Vancouver as one of two Canadian cities who offer the service, says a staff report. Kamloops, BC alsoapproved a supervised injection sitethis month.

Other cities, such as Toronto and Montreal, are looking at supervised injection sites but have yet to receive exemptions under the federal Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

If approved, Public Health will survey people this year on the idea of a supervised injection site, and put money in next year's budget to explore the concept more.

Such sites decrease the number of overdoses and "support health equity and health as a human right, says the report, written by Jessica Hopkins, associate medical officer of health, and Glenda McArthur, director of clinical and preventive services.

They're also "successfully accepted by people who inject drugs, local residents, and the police."

The board will also debate spending $260,956 more to put the city's needle syringe van on the road four more hours a day, plus eight hours on Sunday, for naloxone. That includes three new staff two outreach workers and a public health nurse.

Green said he won't press the naloxone issue now that pharmacists are able to distribute the drug.

samantha.craggs@cbc.ca | @SamCraggsCBC