Police investigating 'fatal overdose' at supervised drug consumption facility in London, Ont.

The organization that oversees London's supervised drug consumption site confirmedThursday afternoonthat a death at the site on Tuesday was caused by anoverdose.

It's the first death since London started providing supervised drug consumption services in 2018, said Martin McIntosh, executive director of Regional HIV/AIDS Connection (RHAC), which oversees the facility.

"Regional HIV/AIDS Connectionis deeply saddened to confirm the tragic loss of a community member this week as the result of a fatal overdose," reads a statement shared by the organization hours after Londonpolice confirmed officers with its major crime section were working with the chief coroner's office to investigate.

The overdose happenedat 466 York St., the permanent location of theCarepointConsumption and Treatment Services since February 2023, according to the statement.

"Despite an immediate crisis response to the first signs of overdose, the individual did not respond to on-site medical intervention and the overdose could not be reversed," the statement said. "London Emergency Medical Services arrived quickly on-site to offer assistance and soon transported the individual to hospital where they were later passed away."

Last year, there were more than 16,000 visits to the siteand close to 200 overdose deaths prevented by the staff who work there, according to information on Carepoint's website. More than 1,000 overdoses have been reversed since 2018, when a temporary drug injection site opened, McIntosh said.

The facility hassterile supplies for safer drug use, such as clean needles, as well as wraparound services such asreferrals to addiction services, workshops, and access to addiction medicine.

In August, harm reduction workers warned of a powerful sedative entering the city's unregulated drug supply. Dexmedetomodineis approved for use in humans and animals in medical settings for sedation and pain relief. The drug has been found in samples of street fentanyl tested at Carepoint.

That followed the discovery of the animal tranquillizer xylazine in the supply earlier in the year.

"This tragedy highlights the ongoing risk posed by the increasingly toxic drug supply. Despite the best medical supports available, contaminated substances are taking lives, which reinforces the critical importance of harm reduction services," the RHAC statement said.

London's facility was the province's first officially sanctioned site for people to use drugs safely and get services for recovery.

The facility is run by the Regional HIV/Aids Connection. Officials expect to make a statement about the death later today.

Asked about the death, the province's heath ministry said it's closing some supervised consumption sites and ramping up enforcement at others.

"Communities, parents and families across Ontario have made it clear that the presence of drug consumption sites are leading to serious safety problems. We agree. That is why our government is taking action to protect the public," ministry spokesperson Hannah Jensen said.

In an email containing the written statement provided by RHAC, McIntosh said he would provide a verbal statement on the situation on Friday morning.