After a month of gathering public input on supervised consumption sites, Middlesex-London's medical officer of health says he is pleased with the feedback he has received.
The last of nine public meetings, which were led by the Middlesex London Health Unit and allowed Londoners to weigh in on the possibility of setting up safe places for drug users to consume narcotics, was held Wednesday.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Chris Mackie noted the idea of creating a mobile supervised consumption unit, rather than a brick-and-mortar facility, has gained a lot of traction among the hundreds who attended the meetings over the past four weeks.
"The concept of potentially having a mobile supervised consumption facility has a lot of appeal. It has really resonated with some of the groups we have consulted," said Dr. Mackie. "There are obviously limits to the mobile option in terms of the capacity to have a high volume of clients flow through. But on the other hand you're able to reach out into areas where people might not otherwise connect with services and that has real advantages too."
Dr. Mackie said the most common concerns relate to fears that a supervised consumption facility would draw drug users and dealers into a neighbourhood, lead to violent situations, and an increase of discarded needles in public spaces.
"The research actually shows that in other places where supervised consumption has been implemented the opposite is the case. You see an increase in public order and a reduction in needle waste," said Dr. Mackie. "That makes sense when you think about public injecting is now going to be indoors instead of in back alleys and people have an opportunity to get rid of their needle waste safely before they leave the facility. So these can have real benefits for neighbourhoods as well."
More than 2,000 people have filled out an online survey on the issue since it was launched at the end of October. It takes roughly ten minutes to complete and will remain available until December 15.
While Old East and the downtown were suggested as possible locations for such a site in the Ontario Integrated Supervised Injection Services Study released in February, Mackie says a specific location has yet to be selected.
"I need to be clear, we haven't got a site identified yet that is going to be practical. That will be a priority over the next few weeks," said Mackie.
With the public consultation phase wrapping up, the health unit will turn its attention to completing a federal application for an exemption to Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that would allow for a supervised consumption site. The exemption is needed to protect people who use the site from criminal prosecution.
Over the past decade, the misuse of opioid drugs has claimed thousands of lives across Canada, nearly 400 of which were in the London area, according to Dr. Mackie. Supervised consumption facilities have been found to reduce the death toll associated with opioids without compromising public safety.