VANCOUVER—An on-demand addiction treatment clinic has opened in the Vancouver neighbourhood hardest-hit by the ongoing opioid overdose crisis.

The Downtown Eastside Connections clinic, unveiled today, is expected to receive 600 patients a year who want help to stop using illicit drugs.

B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake says the program is designed to treat addiction as a health condition, relying on evidence-based methods including opioid replacement therapy and counselling services.

Read more:

Federal government announces $65 million to address opioid crisis as B.C., Ottawa sign health deal

Amid opioid crisis, B.C. sees spike in organ donors who died of drug overdose

Canada’s addiction-treatment system is broken, chief B.C. doctor says

Dr. Ron Joe with Vancouver Coastal Health says patients will be assessed and receive their first dose of opioid replacements like suboxone or methadone within two hours of checking in.

He says many treatment programs require clients to already abstain from drug use, but the new clinic won’t have those barriers and clients can walk in whenever they decide they’re ready for help.

The clinic will be open seven days a week and have on-site social workers, community workers and peer support to address non-medical issues linked with substance abuse.

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.