CALGARY — Calgary's only supervised "supervised consumption" drug site (SCS) is being permanently closed as of Tuesday.The Alberta government announced in March it would be closing Calgary's only safe consumption site at Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre, along with the its only Lethbridge site at the Lethbridge Shelter and Resource Centre, both closing on Tuesday. This was Calgary's first SCS, introduced back in 2017, eventually opening the Beltline neighborhood at Sheldon Chumir.As reported by CBC News, it has received criticism from many for the site's public drug use and calls to police in the area..SCS allows people to use pre-obtained drugs while being watched by medical staff.Alberta is replacing the site with a rapid access addiction medicine (RAAM) clinic at the same location, providing same-day access to addiction counseling and case management.It will also have a 24/7 rapid response team near the Chumir, which will respond to overdoses, provide people with healthcare services, and offer withdrawal management.The government will increase the capacity at the Renfrew Recovery Centre, and do the same for the Calgary Recovery Community and Alpha House..Public Safety and Emergency Services Minister Mike Ellis stated at the announcement of the SCS closure back in March that this will take people out of the cycle of addiction and instead will focus on treatment and recovery services.Previously, back in November, the government closed the SCS at Edmonton's Royal Alexandra Hospital, although the city still has two sites open, including at the George Spady Centre and Radius Community Health and Healing.It also previously closed the Red Deer overdose prevention site at Safe Harbour Shelter Services, which shut down in March 2025.A research study published in March by the Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence (CoRE) published in the scientific journal Addiction, found the closure of the overdose site did not lead to an increase in overdose deaths.
