After years of work, two sites where users can be supervised while they inject drugs will soon open in Montreal.
Cactus Montreal and Dopamine expect to see about 235 people a day at their locations on Sanguinet St. and in Hochelaga Maisonneuve.
Provincial Public Health Minister Lucie Charlebois said she was happy to learn Friday that the federal government had completed the paperwork necessary for two supervised injection sites which are expected to open by the end of the month.
The federal government approved the applications for the injection sites in February.
One such location, Insite, has been operating in Vancouver since 2003.
Health officials say these supervised shooting galleries will reduce the number of people contracting HIV and Hepatitis C, and reduce the number of people suffering drug overdoses.
Two more sites, including a van that will move around Montreal, are still seeking approval.
Montreal is hosting two major international conferences on reducing the harm of illegal drug use over the next week.
