Melbourne will trial its first drug injecting room in overdose hotspot

The Victorian government has approved a safe drug injecting room trial in Melbourne to tackle the city's drug hotspot.

Melbourne will trial its first drug injecting room in an overdose hotspot. Source: AAP

A safe drug injecting room will be trialled for at least two years in inner Melbourne under a plan to be announced by the Victorian government.

AAP understands the government will on Tuesday announce the trial for the state's first drug injecting room in the overdose hotspot of North Richmond.

Key upper house independent James Purcell has said he will support a trial.

"The experience in other parts of Australia, in Sydney in particular, don't show they have any harm and they really do save lives," he told reporters on Monday.

The government's decision comes after a parliamentary inquiry found the drugs problem in the North Richmond area had reached "crisis" levels.

The committee in September tabled a report into a bill by Reason MP Fiona Patten for the creation of a trial centre but its 11 findings did not include a single recommendation on the bill.

A Victorian coroner earlier this year also recommended there be an injecting room trial, while all arms of Victoria's emergency services have either said they'll support or won't oppose one.

But opposition leader Matthew Guy says his party won't support an injecting room.

"We've believed for a long period of time there are other tracks that we should follow, whether it's about one on one support rather than having a centralised facility in a certain location," he said.