Vancouver Health Authority Shuts Down Unsanctioned Drug User-Run Site In The Downtown Eastside

On a rainy day last December, a delegation from Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) delivered a letter to the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) ordering the organization to "cease and desist" from operating an unsanctioned supervised-injection site in the Downtown Eastside, where members of the drug user group assisted other people to inject illicit drugs. It was a harm reduction service that was widely known and used by hundreds in the Downtown Eastside and had been operating for four years, but flew under the radar of many in the city, and did not have government approval.

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