Recovering addicts question supervised drug use site in Calgary

Users on the front lines who are battling addiction don’t agree that a supervised drug site in Calgary is going to make much of a difference.

Jesse Matlock and Shawn Davis are currently in treatment at Simon House Recovery Centre, and their addictions are costing them big.

“It started with weed and then mushrooms. It eventually led to cocaine and then crack cocaine,” Matlock said. “I lost friends and family and watched some of my friends die from overdosing.”

After losing his job and home, Matlock moved to Vancouver and said he actually sought out supervised drug use sites in order to find drugs.

“I went there to pick up clean pipes and I knew there would be a dealer a block away—it’s almost like a magnet for all the things that go along with addiction.”

Davis, a recovering alcoholic, has been to detox three times at the Renfrew Recovery Centre and would like the focus to be on helping people who want help.

“The beds are so limited and the last time I detoxed, there were 20 of us in there and three of us got accepted.”

That concern has also been raised by Trevor Loria, the CEO of Simon House. Loria said the organization receives up to 10 phone calls each day from people asking for treatment.

“We’re not opposed to supervised drug use sites. Our position is to say we advocate for recovery,” Loria said. “Why would you invest time and money keeping someone sick, when you could and should invest time and money helping someone get better?”

Davis also questions who will use the site with Calgary’s population so spread out.

“When you’re in that addiction or state of mind, you want it now. So you’re not going to take the time to jump on a bus to get there. Usually by the time you get there, it’s gone.”

Matlock hopes that if someone does ask for help at the supervised drug use site, there will be a bed available to help them in their road to recovery.

“You go to the hospital when you’re sick. You don’t go to the hospital to get sick.”