In 2005 when the Toronto Drug Strategy was approved by Toronto City Council one of the main recommendations was to complete a needs assessment and feasibility study on the implications of establishing supervised consumption sites in Toronto.
The independent research project – expanded to include Ottawa – was carried out over four years by Dr. Ahmed Bayoumi, a physician and research scientist at the Center for Research on Inner City Health at St. Michael’s Hospital, and Dr. Carol Strike, an associate professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.
The study recommends establishing injection sites, three in Toronto, two in Ottawa, that are fixed sites and should be integrated within existing service settings.
The study does not call for the establishment of consumption sites for people who smoke drugs but does call for more research on how best to provide supervised consumption through inhalation. Evaluation and the importance of a comprehensive approach to substance use is also noted.
On September 30, 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the right of Insite, currently Canada’s only supervised injection site located in Vancouver, to remain open.
Read the full research report here and let us know what you think.
