Facility, Staff Aim To Give City’s Drug-Addicted A Safe Place To Consume Narcotics.
This is the fourth in a series of stories Kawartha 411 has been writing on the opioid crisis in Peterborough and across the Kawarthas
PETERBOROUGH – Peterborough’s long-awaited Consumption and Treatment Services Site (CTS) is now set to be open to the city’s drug-addicted population on June 13. This is according to the facility’s manager Kerri Kightley, who gave Kawartha 411 and other members of the public a first-hand look at the facility on May 31.

Photo by John McFadden
Kightley said they have been open for a little while now and have been providing drug-addicted people with resources to help them deal with their addiction and possibly break the vicious cycle of addiction. The critical need for the facility was never more evident than in April when health officials reported at least seven suspected drug-related deaths in the city in that single month alone.
“Using the CTS may be the only connection to health or social services for someone who is using drugs,” Kightley said. “Lives will be saved not only by providing a space where overdoses can be responded to, but also by building compassionate relationships that link individuals to other supports for their wellbeing.”

Photo by John McFadden
Drug users will be able to bring their own narcotics to the site and use them under the supervision of caring health professionals. Sterile drug use equipment including clean needles, spoons to prepare the drugs and tie off straps will be provided by the site. Education on overdose prevention, safer drug use, wound care and connections to community supports will also be provided.

The Mobile Supports Overdose Response Team (MSORT) shares the building, the old Greyhound bus terminal on Simcoe St. at Hunter, and Fourcast’s addictions staff are well equipped to support individuals seeking treatment.

Fourcast – the Four Counties Addiction Services Team – announced on May 26 that they have completed the required Health Canada site visit in order to issue an exemption that allows for the use of illegal substances inside the CTS.
“We are training staff now and are awaiting the green light,” said Donna Rogers, executive director of Fourcast. “Thanks to the efforts of the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough, along with many local businesses and individual donors, we were able raise $160 thousand to undertake most of the needed renovations ahead of time. This has put the opening of this facility at least six months earlier.”
Fourcast said that research shows about 60 percent of the city’s opioid users smoke and inhale their drug of choice. However, due to the province’s strict anti-smoking laws, smoking inside the facility is not permitted. However, officials point out that in Whitehorse, Yukon, a pilot project is underway to allow drug smokers to use a safe facility.
Officials also said there will be a machine at the Peterborough facility that allows the drug users to test their drugs for toxins before using them.