Supervised consumption services (SCS) are an important health service designed to improve the health of people who use drugs. SCS are a core component of Canada’s overdose response. SCS can help reduce risk of accidental overdose death because they provide a safe and monitored space for drug use, which can help people avoid having to take drugs alone, in a rushed way, and in unsafe places (e.g., in public, outdoors, locked in a washroom). SCS staff respond quickly to overdoses, and people can test their drugs for fentanyl and sometimes other substances at some SCS. Distributing sterile drug use equipment at SCS helps reduce transmission of blood borne infections (such as HIV), and people can receive further harm reduction education on how to use drugs more safely. SCS also connect people to the health and social services they need but might otherwise have difficulties accessing on their own. Learn more about the basics of supervised consumption services in more detail, including supporting peer reviewed research.
Citation: Hyshka E, Speed K, Kennedy MC, Jackson L. Evidence brief: The Basics. Edmonton: Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Misuse; 2021. 4p. Available from: whyscs.ca.