For people living with addiction, it’s been proven that access to evidence-based treatment and support can help keep them alive and stable. But care can be hard to come by and is only possible by combating the stigma around addiction, which is pervasive among providers, the public, and people with addiction themselves.

Disparities in overdose deaths were highest among Black and Indigenous people. 

Advocates of the proposal say it would prevent overdoses, slow the spread of HIV and inspire drug users to seek help, while proponents say safe injection sites would create an "open drug scene."