A drug user who was witnessed by CTV News being saved from a drug overdose over the weekend says he's grateful for the rescue, but he's still using drugs.

On Sunday, CTV's Michele Brunoro was visiting Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to speak to volunteers at a pop-up supervised injection site when 23-year-old Michael overdosed.

Volunteers at the technically illegal site rushed to his aid and revived him with three doses of naloxone, a drug that counters the effects of opioid overdoses.

Brunoro caught up with Michael on Wednesday, and asked him about the incident.

"Essentially I was not alive," he recalled.

"I only had $5, and I think just a really strong batch has been going around."

Michael said he was grateful to those who administered the naloxone, saving his life, but when asked if he was still using, he said he'd taken drugs at least five times since Sunday. One of those times was just hours after the overdose.

He said this is not the life he wants, and he's already made the decision to change.

"There's doors that need to be opened. Those doors are open, I just need to muster up the courage and go through there," he said.

But for those like Michael who are looking for help, help is not always readily available.

"I've been trying to get into detox for the last week and a half and being turned down," Ricky Joseph told CTV News on Wednesday.

Vancouver Coastal Health said the week-and-a-half wait is accurate.

And for those who seek long-term treatment, at facilities that include extensive counselling, the wait can be as long as eight months, a doctor told CTV on Tuesday.

Mayor Gregor Robertson said those looking for help should not have to wait to detox.

"Detox on demand needs to be available so when police and firefighters encounter people in these desperate situations they can take them for treatment," he said.

Waiting can be a matter of life for some addicts, many of whom rely on sites like the one where Michael detoxed just to stay alive.

The Downtown Eastside has seen more than 250 overdoses in the past week, 104 of which took place at a legal supervised injection site. A paramedic said Wednesday, the day social assistance cheques were distributed, first responders were getting called about an overdose every five minutes.

Some of those who couldn't get into the often swamped, Vancouver Coastal Health-approved injection site, overdosed at the illegal pop-up site, a tent set up in an alley near the Insite location.

"We had a guy yesterday who overdosed 10 times in a 24-hour period," a volunteer told CTV News.

"I overdosed seven times in five days," a user of the pop-up site said.

The mayor said the unapproved site isn't ideal, but that he understood why it's been set up.

"There must be a more rapid response from the provincial and federal governments because it's carnage in our streets and that's absolutely not acceptable," Robertson said.

With a report from CTV Vancouver's Michele Brunoro