Ottawa's first supervised injection site was granted an exemption by Health Canada on Wednesday. "I'm feeling elated here. It's a strange feeling to be at this point now, after so much time and effort and energy," said Rob Boyd, Oasis program director at the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre, where the site will be housed. Boyd said he will meet with the province next week to discuss the budget to build the injection room, which will include five specialized booths for drug users. [continues 104 words]
Last month 134 admitted to ER for suspected overdose Health Canada's final decision on whether a supervised injection site can open at the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre could be coming any day. According to the Health Canada website, the proposal has completed all five of the required application steps and has now reached the decision stage. Rob Boyd, Oasis program director at the centre, told Metro he was notified by the department Wednesday they had completed the application to the satisfaction of Health Canada and their case would now be forwarded for a final decision. [continues 129 words]
A new online survey launched Wednesday wants to gather public thoughts on how Ontario should approach legalizing marijuana. It wants to know how it can do it in a way that "protects youth, prevents harms and ensures that Ontario's roads continue to be among the safest in North America," according to a media release. Among the questions are "Would you support the Ontario government putting in place stricter penalties (e.g. increased fines, longer licence suspensions) for drug-impaired driving?" and "What public health and safety measures are most important to you as we determine who should sell and distribute cannabis in Ontario?" [continues 149 words]
