Pubdate: Tue, 19 Sep 2017 Source: Toronto Star (CN ON) Copyright: 2017 The Toronto Star Contact: http://www.thestar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456 Page: 10 PUBLISH STATISTICS News that Toronto is one big step closer to a long-term safe injection site is most welcome, particularly as this city, like many in North America, grapples with a growing opioid addiction crisis. It's also a reminder of the important work ahead. In the month since a pop-up injection site opened in Moss Park, the volunteer staff has accommodated nearly 2,700 visits and administered 26 doses of naloxone, the antidote to these deadly drugs. As City Councillor Joe Cressy told the Star's David Rider last week, the Moss Park project provides yet further proof that safe-injection sites work and underscores the need for more of them. Cressy announced that, with winter approaching, the Moss Park site, currently operating out of a tent, will likely move to a nearby building. That's a good thing. Such sites have been shown to reduce the risk of overdose and needle-transmitted disease, while increasing the likelihood that users will get the help they need. "Three years ago, when I started working on safe injection, the question was, 'Should we do it?'" Cressy told Rider. "Now the question is, 'Why can't we do it sooner to save lives?'" Toronto's embrace of safe-injection sites is a key step as the city seeks a smarter approach to the prevention and treatment of drug addiction, especially amid the opioid crisis. But a comprehensive approach requires a level of information and transparency the city has so far refused to adopt. Crucial data, such as up-to-date numbers on opioid-related overdose deaths, are simply not available. In June the Public Health Agency of Canada released a study revealing that nearly 2,500 Canadians died from opioid overdoses in 2016, but it's impossible to tell how many died in Toronto because the city's most recent statistical report on opioid addiction is from 2015. The statistics are grim, and show a steep uptick in opioid-related ER visits and deaths starting five years ago. By 2015, 200 Torontonians were hospitalized as a result of opioid use. That year, 129 people suffered fatal opioid overdoses in Toronto, compared with 56 who died by homicide. But the data available are episodic and incomplete. Detailed information on the dimensions of the problem and what is working and what is not is essential if Toronto is going to have a comprehensive drug strategy. The provincial government recently committed $222 million, spread over three years, to the city's anti-opioid programs. A permanent downtown safe-injection site is an excellent step in the right direction. But the wise and accountable spending of the province's money will require a real commitment to good data and transparency. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt