Interior Health has announced that it has no plan to create a supervised drug inhalation site in Nelson.
"Currently, episodic (as-needed) inhalation supports are being provided by ANKORS/REDUN in Nelson to reach individuals where they are in the community – this is not a fixed overdose prevention site (OPS) location," an IH spokesperson said in an email to the Nelson Star, adding that a similar service is offered in Trail.
"Nelson does not have fixed inhalation OPS location and there are no plans to select a new site at this time."
Before this decision, first reported by Castanet on Jan. 30, there was an expectation that IH would find a location after its earlier proposed site at the Nelson Friendship Outreach Clubhouse was cancelled in 2023 following backlash from neighbouring businesses and residents who argued the location is inappropriate and unsafe.
At the time, Lannon de Best, Interior Health’s executive director of clinical operations for the Kootenay Boundary, said the health authority will instead work with the City of Nelson to make sure the Clubhouse is properly suited for an inhalation site. He said it will also consider alternative locations.
The IH email states that it attempts to provide a range of services across the West Kootenay and that it is in the process of creating a minimum standard for consistent services in all regions of the province.
