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The subsequent step for a controversial supervised protected consumption drug web site has been authorized by council members in Richmond, B.C., after two days of extremely charged hearings.
The council voted 7 to 2 late Tuesday to cross a movement in favour of exploring the opportunity of establishing a web site with Vancouver Coastal Well being.
Council issued an announcement earlier than the vote to deal with what it referred to as “a considerable amount of misinformation and misunderstanding” concerning the movement, saying it’s finally as much as the well being authority to determine if the positioning shall be established.
SEE ALSO: B.C.’s safer supply drug program review gets reaction from frontline
Greater than 100 folks signed as much as communicate to the movement, a lot of them against the opportunity of a metropolis supervised consumption web site in response to the escalating variety of illicit drug overdose deaths within the province.
The council assembly was peppered with shouting by a number of the attendees of “no medication” and “disgrace on you,” whereas a number of councillors rebuked the protesters’ behaviour.
Richmond presently has no supervised consumption websites, which permits folks with addictions to manage their very own medication underneath the watch of certified well being professionals.
Dependancy remedy and restoration companies are additionally supplied on the websites, though they don’t “hand out medication to customers” as described within the Metropolis of Richmond’s assertion.
Video posted on social media reveals tense confrontations between supporters and opponents of the websites at Richmond Metropolis Corridor, with numerous opposing attendees yelling in one another’s faces.
The issued has garnered the eye of numerous high-profile politicians, together with federal Conservative Chief Pierre Poilievre, who posted a video of a confrontation on social media platform X, saying it was an assault on a person attempting to guard his youngsters from a drug injection web site.
READ ALSO: Ending drug decriminalization won’t save lives, B.C. minister says on anniversary
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Feb. 14, 2024.
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