{"id":166319,"date":"2024-06-03T09:40:15","date_gmt":"2024-06-03T13:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inrs.ca\/?p=166319"},"modified":"2024-06-03T09:40:17","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T13:40:17","slug":"supervised-consumption-sites-filling-the-research-gaps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inrs.ca\/en\/news\/supervised-consumption-sites-filling-the-research-gaps\/","title":{"rendered":"Supervised Consumption Sites: Filling the Research Gaps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

INRS Professor Carolyn C\u00f4t\u00e9-Lussier launches a pilot project in Montreal to identify areas for public health action<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n \n

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Supervised consumption sites are a frequent subject of political and social debate. And while the benefits for users have been well documented, the same cannot be said for the impact on surrounding communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the conclusion reached by Carolyn C\u00f4t\u00e9-Lussier, a professor at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS), in a review of the literature on the subject. The review was published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health<\/em><\/a> on April\u00a011, 2024, in collaboration with INRS postdoctoral researcher Paul Rodrigues, who is also affiliated with the Universit\u00e9 de Montr\u00e9al\u2019s International Centre for Comparative Criminology<\/a> (ICCC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThis is a brand-new field of research: the first supervised consumption site in Canada opened just 20 years ago in Vancouver.\u201d <\/p>\nCarolyn C\u00f4t\u00e9-Lussier<\/strong>, researcher who specializes in criminology, social psychology, and health. <\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Today, according to Government of Canada data<\/a>, there are 39 supervised consumption sites across the country, which logged more than 4\u00a0million visits between 2017 and 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, when new sites are preparing to open, they are often met with resistance from local communities. While these communities do not deny the benefits, they often express concerns for their own safety and, in particular, that of their children. The problem, explains the researcher, is that there is currently a lack of evidence to reassure the public and tackle the \u201cnot in my backyard\u201d issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere should we open a new site? What\u2019s the best way to operate, not only for the people using the sites, but for the communities around those sites? What impact do they have\u2014good or bad\u2014on life in the neighbourhood?\u201d These are questions that are often raised in public debates, but that are not well addressed by the scientific literature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Highlights<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n