Safe injection site report now public, Sudbury health unit says

The research behind a recommendation for a supervised drug consumption site in Sudbury is now public.

It took eleven months for the feasibility study to be put together, and is the second step in a nine-step application process to Health Canada.

Stephanie Bale, a health promoter specializing in mental health and addictions with Public Health Sudbury and Districts, said there is still a "long list" of items that need to be worked out with the city and other stakeholders before the site becomes a reality.

That includes the concerns raised by drug users in the dialogue that helped foster the data for the report.

"I think that was a key component in this research –  that we heard from 190 people who use injection drugs in our community," Bale said. 

Incorporating drug users' voices, as well as learning from their experiences, helped researchers understand the complex issue of drug use.

"They gave us some great information about how often they're using drugs, where they're using drugs...89 per cent said that they would use this type of service."

However there is still concern from the drug using community, she said. 

"Their concerns include things like anonymity, confidentiality, the potential for police presence...these are still illicit, illegal substances and those are legitimate concerns," she said. 

The researchers also took into consideration other voices from the community. 

"We heard from over 2200 community members in a self selected survey, those who had a vested interest in this topic," Bale said.

"Most thought that this service would be helpful for the community. They thought it would help reduce public drug use and reduce publicly discarded syringes. And it would reduce overdoses."

Bale said they also had other concerns, which if the site goes forward, would be addressed in the implementation phase of the project. 

The location of a supervised injection site would also be a key element in the application to Health Canada. That's something they've discussed after reviewing the research. 

"The persons who use drugs, the community members as well as our community partners, they all agreed that a centralized location would be ideal, something close to public transit, something within walking distance for persons who use drugs." 

Bale also acknowledged that opposition to the site is "normal."

"There are a lot of concerns..is this going to increase crime? Increase drug use in the neighborhood or bring more drug dealers to that neighborhood?"

Those are all concerns Bale said the team hopes to address through education and increased awareness. So far, looking at the data from other supervised consumption sites in Canada, the fears have not turned into reality.

"They haven't shown that there has been a shift in drug use in different neighbourhoods, or bringing more drugs to the neighborhood where those sites are located, or increasing drug use, for that matter, or increasing any crime. 

"But these are all things that we will have discussions about in our next steps and develop those policies, those mitigation strategies... working towards our next steps in implementing a supervised consumption site."

You can read the report by clicking here.