Drug Addictions: A timeline of harm reduction measures

1964: Ontario’s Addiction Research Foundation provides Canada’s first methadone treatment program. By the early 1970s, methadone was being prescribed in every province including B.C.
1984: The Netherlands launches the world’s first needle exchange program.
1986: The first legal, supervised injection sites opened in Bern, Switzerland.
1989: British Columbia’s first needle exchange program began. It was a pilot project funded by the city of Vancouver and run by the Downtown