Supervised consumption sites in the DTES give addicts who use fentanyl, opioids, crystal methamphetamine and other drugs a place to use

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - MAY 05: Medics with the Vancouver Fire Rescue Services attend to a man who overdosed on drugs in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) neighborhood on Thursday, May 5, 2022 in Vancouver, British Columbia. A by stander witnessed the man collapse, then gave him two injections of Naloxone, a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose, and sent another person to get an oxygen tank from a supervised consumption site. Supervised consumption sites in the DTES give addicts who use fentanyl, opioids, crystal methamphetamine and other drugs a place to use and get harm reduction supplies; clean syringes, alcohol swabs, sterile water, tourniquets, spoons and filters. On April 14, 2016, provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall declared a public health emergency under the Public Health Act due to the significant rise in opioid-related overdose deaths reported in B.C. since the beginning of 2016. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)