Tell Christine Elliott to protect overdose prevention sites

In 2017, over 1,200 people died of preventable overdose in Ontario - hundreds more than 2016. [1]

That's three people every day - dead.

Emergency room visits because of opioid use have also skyrocketed over the past year, at 7,512 visits, a 69 per cent increase over the 4,427 visits in 2016.

But there is a solution. Overdose prevention and safe injection sites are proven to save lives. In Ontario, several such sites have saved over a thousand lives in the past year; not a single person has died at these sites.

These sites reduce public injection; reduce drug paraphernalia litter; and do not increase drug-related crime. Meanwhile, they could save millions in healthcare costs - and thousands of lives. [2]

The time for "review" is over. The Ontario government must move forward immediately with approving and funding overdose prevention sites across the province, in addition to urgently needed supports and rehabilitation.

SOURCES:

[1] https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/opioid-overdose-deaths-surpass-1200-in-ontario-for-2017-new-data-show
[2] https://betablog.org/overdose-prevention-site-reduce-public-injecting/
[3] https://www.catie.ca/en/pif/fall-2018/harm-reduction-action-supervised-consumption-services-and-overdose-prevention-sites