Interim safe-injection site opens in Toronto

An interim safe-injection site is set to open its doors in Toronto today.

In a report released Sunday, Health Canada said it approved of Toronto Public Health’s application to open its downtown site several months sooner than planned. Supervised areas save lives and improve health without increasing drug use or crime nearby.

The temporary facility is located at the Toronto Public Health building on Victoria St. as construction continues on three permanent sites.

Three injection sites were expected to open in the fall, but harm reduction workers say those plans were made before the present-day opioid crisis.

Harm reduction workers put up an unsanctioned safe injection site in Toronto’s Moss Park in early August as a means to handle the city’s recent spike in overdoses and suspected overdose deaths.