Addicts / people with addictions are being used as a tool to deny chronic pain patients medication. The way to respond to that is NOT by shaming addicts and blaming them for the system's ableism and failure to understand and provide for ALL its patients.

Addicts / PWA are an extremely stigmatised group, still widely blamed for their own circumstances and portrayed as deceptive, selfish, etc. This isn't the first time they've been used as a tool and framed as being a threat to other disabled / ill / neurodivergent people.

None of that is ok. Ableism is still ableism when it's against addicts / PWA. Yes, even if they started drinking / using drugs / etc by choice. Yes, even if you know an individual addict who isn't a nice person. Stereotyping an entire group as bad still isn't ok.

Let's not buy into the ableism at work here, and act as though addicts / PWA are the enemies of other groups. Our communities need to be in solidarity with each other against the oppressive systems perpetuating harmful against us.

Addicts / PWA are not an enemy, they're part of our overall community and deserve support and solidarity from us.

(If you have personal struggles with an individual addict / PWA, I can't speak to that; I'm talking about how we respond to an entire group of people.)

Side note: is there a preferred term - addict, person with an addiction, or something else? I've seen 'substance user', but just using a certain substance (e.g. alcohol) doesn't necessarily mean being addicted to it, so that seems like it's not quite the same thing.

Any addicts reading this - gonna be honest, I'm not very informed about your community yet. I'm sorry about that, and I am gradually working on it. But I won't shame you or assume things about you, and to me your community is one of us. So hi :)