This discussion-centred roundtable was focused on implementing supervised smoking/inhalation rooms in drug consumption sites. Service providers and people who use drugs have expressed the urgent need to expand existing supervised consumption sites to include smoking/inhalation rooms in response to increasing overdoses related to smoking drugs. The benefits of smoking/inhalation rooms also include increased engagement of people who smoke drugs and the reduction in barriers to consumption services. However, sites that are considering to include smoking/inhalation face a number of questions regarding air quality, employee safety, legislation, funding, implementation, and others.
This roundtable focused on key lessons community partners across Canada have learned from implementing supervised smoking/inhalation rooms, as well as best practices for day-to-day operations. Attendees had an opportunity to ask questions, exchange ideas, and contribute to growing discussions in this area.
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Identify best practices in implementing smoking/inhalation rooms
- Understand experiences and strategies from local communities working in safer smoking/inhalation
- Analyze ways to adapt strategies for their own communities
Presenter(s): Nat Kaminski, Casey Schapel, Jill Aalhus, Kayla DeMong, Ashley Smoke