‘It’s like pouring water on a grease fire’: Drug strategy specialist on province’s CTS ban

One local drug strategy specialist is sounding the alarm over the province’s announcement on new restrictions for safe consumption and treatment sites (CTS).

Michael Parkinson, a drug strategy specialist, said the decision by the province will lead to more injuries, deaths and more financial burden and workload to the health care system.

“If you think an ambulance or care in the emergency department is hard to get now, it’s about to get a lot worse,” he said. “It’s like pouring water on a grease fire. It’s a tragedy on top of a tragedy that will benefit no taxpayer.”

The province announced on Tuesday some new restrictions for drug consumption sites, including a ban within 200 metres of a school or a child car centre. The move will lead to the closure of 10 sites across the province, including the one at 150 Duke Street in Kitchener and the one in Guelph. Currently, there are 17 sites across the province.

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Parkinson said the use of CTSs are supported by decades of evidences and they provide a pathway to addiction treatment and they save lives. He noted the majority of people who die from overdoses are dying in their homes and not at these sites.

“They are controversial only because some political leaders thinks there are votes to be gained by vilifying people who use substances, bereaved families and so on,” said Parkinson.

The most recent data from the region’s consumption and treatment services dashboard shows there have been 64 reversed overdoses at the Kitchener CTS site and 0 deaths so far this year. The same dashboard shows there have been over 9,300 client visits since January with 1,500 visits last month alone.

As of August 19, the region’s Overdose/Drug Poisoning Dashboard shows there have been 59 suspected deaths in the region so far in 2024.