Red Deer may know by the end of October whether the province agrees that the city needs a supervised drug consumption site.
A recently completed needs assessment study by the Red Deer Coalition on the Opioid Crisis found that the city does need a consumption site, and the results have been submitted to the province.
Stacey Carmichael, Turning Point executive director, said the study’s conclusion is based on sound consultation and research.
“The fact that we need one, that’s not debatable,” Carmichael.
On Monday city council voted to ask the province for more robust public consultation before a consumption site is introduced.
But Carmichael said further consultation is already a requirement to make a federal exemption application under the Controlled Drug and Substance Act.
This summer a total of 114 people attended consultation meetings that were open to the public and attracted a variety of community members like small business owners, health workers and concerned citizens, she said.
“We also actually talked to over 250 people who use drugs as part of our complete needs assessment. We also talked to numerous front-line workers and people who work with this population.”
And Turning Point is eager to continue the community conversation.
“We want to share it. There’s lots of good stuff in it. We would be willing to come and talk to groups about what we found. We can answer their questions based on evidence and what we’ve learned.
“We want the community to know what’s going on.”
In September Turning Point gave out 463 naloxone kits to reverse opioid overdoses and 80 reversals were reported.
“My staff just reversed an overdose. It is a crisis. Although these folks are not viewed as legitimate citizens by everybody, they absolutely are and they’re dying and we need to respond.”
In 2016 Red Deer had the highest rate of fentanyl-related overdose deaths in the province at 21 per 100,000 people.
Carmichael said in 26 days Calgary is opening a temporary supervised drug consumption site so other municipalities are responding quicker than Red Deer.
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter