The long-awaited results of a study into whether London is suitable city for a supervised injection site for drug addicts will be released Wednesday.
The Ontario HIV Treatment Network and the Regional HIV/AIDS Connection began the feasibility study in London and Thunder Bay in February of last year. Researchers spoke to people who use or have used injection drugs to determine whether they would use the sites. Whether or not the services would be accepted within the community was also examined.
As part of the study, feedback was sought from community members, health care providers, law enforcement officials, and government representatives.
Dr. Thomas Kerr, the principal investigator of the study, will present the report to health officials, including those with the Middlesex-London Health Unit. Federal and provincial politicians are also expected to be on hand for the release of the findings. The results of the study will be published online for the public to view later in the day.
Supervised injection sites have long been considered a controversial topic. The sites allow people to inject drugs under safe conditions and give them access to sterile injecting equipment.
North America's first supervised injection site opened in Vancouver in 2003. This week, the federal government approved three sites in Montreal. In January, the Ontario government announced it would fund three sites in Toronto.
Previous studies into supervised injection sites have found they reduce the risk of Hepatitis C and HIV transmission, and fatal overdoses. At the same time, they cut down on injection drug use in public.
