{"id":18094,"date":"2019-09-16T18:04:07","date_gmt":"2019-09-16T22:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aidslaw.ca\/site\/?page_id=18094"},"modified":"2022-10-17T21:31:31","modified_gmt":"2022-10-18T01:31:31","slug":"key-facts","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/drugs-and-harm-reduction\/key-facts\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Key Facts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0; padding-bottom: 0; line-height: 1px; border-bottom: 2px solid #fff;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"..\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/drugs-and-harm-reduction-tall-2022-2.jpg\" alt=\"Federal Election 2019 - Drugs adn Harm Reduction: How to speak to your MP about their plan to combat the opioid overdose crisis\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-22087 size-full\" style=\"margin-bottom: 0;\" width=\"1140\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/drugs-and-harm-reduction-tall-2022-2.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/drugs-and-harm-reduction-tall-2022-2-300x79.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/drugs-and-harm-reduction-tall-2022-2-1024x269.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1140px) 100vw, 1140px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-accordion su-u-trim\">\n<div class=\"su-spoiler su-spoiler-style-default su-spoiler-icon-plus resource-kit drugs-harm-reduction\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"no\"><div class=\"su-spoiler-title\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"><span class=\"su-spoiler-icon\"><\/span>Menu: Harm Reduction Advocacy Guide<\/div><div class=\"su-spoiler-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\">\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"..\/..\/drugs-and-harm-reduction\/?lang=en\">Information on the Opioid Crisis<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"..\/..\/drugs-and-harm-reduction\/key-facts\/?lang=en\">Key Facts<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"..\/..\/drugs-and-harm-reduction\/questions-to-ask-your-mp\/?lang=en\">Questions to ask your MP<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"..\/..\/drugs-and-harm-reduction\/take-action\/?lang=en\">Take Action<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"su-divider su-divider-style-default\" style=\"margin:10px 0;border-width:1px;border-color:#ccc\"><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"..\/..\/drugs-and-harm-reduction\/definitions-and-sources\/?lang=en\">Definitions and Sources<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"su-spacer\" style=\"height:20px\"><\/div>\n<h1 class=\"drugs-harm-and-reduction\">Key Facts<\/h1>\n<div class=\"su-spacer\" style=\"height:20px\"><\/div>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"..\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/IMG_4836.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-18247\" width=\"708\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/IMG_4836.jpg 708w, https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/IMG_4836-300x127.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 708px) 100vw, 708px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-divider su-divider-style-default\" style=\"margin:30px 0;border-width:1px;border-color:#ccc\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>In Canada, there have been more than 12,800 opioid-related deaths since 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><i>None<\/i> of these deaths have occurred at supervised consumption sites<\/li>\n<li>In 2018, one person died every two hours from opioid-related causes<\/li>\n<li>One study shows that in Alberta alone, within three months (January to March 2019), there were more than 94,000 visits to supervised consumption sites \u2014 the demand across Canada is undeniable<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"su-divider su-divider-style-default\" style=\"margin:30px 0;border-width:1px;border-color:#ccc\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>Supervised consumption sites allow people to use drugs safely under the supervision of trained staff and They offer many proven benefits, including:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Preventing deaths from overdose and supply poisoning<\/li>\n<li>Facilitating entry into drug treatment services<\/li>\n<li>Reducing the risk of infection, including HIV and hepatitis C<\/li>\n<li>Connecting people to health and social services<\/li>\n<li>Reducing open drug use in public places<\/li>\n<li>Giving women and other marginalized people who use drugs a reprieve from street-based physical and sexual violence<\/li>\n<li>Educating people about unsafe drug use and safer consumption practices<\/li>\n<li>Saving lives<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"su-divider su-divider-style-default\" style=\"margin:30px 0;border-width:1px;border-color:#ccc\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>Sites need a federal \u201cexemption\u201d from Canada\u2019s drug laws to operate without risk of criminal charges<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The federal government is responsible for granting exemptions, turning a public health issue into one that is vulnerable to the changing political context<\/li>\n<li>Between 2003 and 2016, no new supervised consumption sites opened in Canada because the federal government at the time opposed them and therefore would not approve exemptions<\/li>\n<li>Without an exemption, staff, volunteers and clients are at risk of criminal prosecution for \u201cpossessing drugs for personal use.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Exemptions are time-limited and range in length from 1\u20133 years, at which point individual sites must re-apply under a process that remains unnecessarily complicated<\/li>\n<li>The government has the power to grant a \u201cclass exemption\u201d that would automatically provide staff and clients certain protections from prosecution to any facility that meets some basic minimum standards. Such an exemption would remove a significant administrative strain from overburdened service operators, allowing for more rapid response<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"su-divider su-divider-style-default\" style=\"margin:30px 0;border-width:1px;border-color:#ccc\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>The first site to operate with a formal exemption, Insite, opened in 2003 in Vancouver.<\/strong> <b><\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It is a world-renowned model of successful harm reduction in action, and has been the subject of many studies that show an array of positive benefits for both the community it operates in and the people it serves. In 2018, there were 1,466 overdose interventions at this location alone<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"su-divider su-divider-style-default\" style=\"margin:30px 0;border-width:1px;border-color:#ccc\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"su-note highlight-box\"  style=\"border-color:#007bb1;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#1095cb;border-color:#dcffff;color:#fff;\">\n<strong class=\"large\">The HIV Legal Network is calling on the government to commit to saving lives and tackling the overdose crisis by:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Preserving the current number of supervised consumption sites<\/li>\n<li>Scaling up the number of supervised consumption sites<\/li>\n<li>Committing to provide adequate funding for these services<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Each and every day, the criminalization and stigmatization of people who use drugs cost lives and undermine health. Unless we see a marked shift in policy, including significant resources dedicated to harm reduction services, the body count will continue to grow.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>You can <a href=\"..\/..\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Facts-Harm-Reduction-MP.pdf\">download this fact sheet<\/a>\u00a0as a PDF and share it with your MP.<\/strong> <\/em>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Facts In Canada, there have been more than 12,800 opioid-related deaths since 2016 None of these deaths have occurred at supervised consumption sites In 2018, one person died every two hours from opioid-related causes One study shows that in Alberta alone, within three months (January to March 2019), there were more than 94,000 visits &#8230; <a title=\"Key Facts\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/drugs-and-harm-reduction\/key-facts\/?lang=en\" aria-label=\"More on Key Facts\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":18084,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-18094","page","type-page","status-publish"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18094"}],"version-history":[{"count":44,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18094\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22666,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18094\/revisions\/22666"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}