Ottawa approves temporary overdose-prevention sites in bid to address opioid crisis

About 3,000 people could die of opioid overdoses in 2017
The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Thursday, November 16, 2017

Ottawa will let provinces and territories open temporary sites for drug-overdose prevention while their applications for permanent facilities are processed, a measure officials hope will curb the country's deadly substance-abuse crisis, the federal Health Minister said. Ginette Petitpas Taylor also said that existing sites for supervised drug consumption, which provide more services than overdose-prevention sites, will be permitted to allow users to check their illicit drugs for the presence of the opioid fentanyl. As well, the federal government wants to reduce regulatory barriers that limit access to prescription-grade heroin for people in drug-treatment programs.