Read on Twitter
For #RecoveryMonth 
, I want to take a moment to touch on the way that shame, stigma, & discrimination contribute to the oppression and marginalization of drug users. (1/?)
, I want to take a moment to touch on the way that shame, stigma, & discrimination contribute to the oppression and marginalization of drug users. (1/?)
Stigma (which we really should be calling discrimination) is a mark of disgrace that accompanies drug use or abuse. It occurs at multiple levels in society across all sectors, because many people believe that folks with SUDs are stupid people who make harmful choices. (2/?)
I’ll start with the health care sector: Doctors & psychiatrists often limit the care they give to drug users until they stop using. Pain and health concerns are often dismissed as a consequence of drug use – something that people who use drugs ‘deserve’. (3/?)
Though it is true that sometimes health problems are a side effect of drug use, they can obviously be completely unrelated – either way, a decision to use drugs should not affect the quality of care people receive. (4/?)
When people who use drugs are denied high-quality health care, they internalize that their pain is not important & that they don’t deserve to feel well. The resulting shame means folks lie about use, stop going to the doctor, and lose trust in the medical system. (5/?)
In the legal sector, police have internalized the message that addiction is criminal. People are imprisoned for behaviours associated with addiction rather than given the tools and resources they need to thrive. (6/?)
In a jail cell, there is rarely, if ever, any harm reduction. Needles will be reused over & over again – this can mean a healthy person can go to jail & contract HIV or Hepatitis C. (7/?)
Punishing people for crimes related to drug use is a revolving door that wreaks havoc on families and communities: it affects mental health, well-being, and -- critically -- hope for a good future. (8/?)
Discrimination also exists in the Children’s Aid Society, a powerful agency that ostensibly protects children & infants who are at risk of harm, neglect, & abuse. There is no oversight for this organization, and no recourse if a CAS worker decides that a child is at risk. (9/?)
Every day, children are taken from their parents by CAS workers who don’t understand addiction, destroying families and increasing the shame of many good parents & mothers who face addiction. (10/?)
On the community level, drug users face stigma & discrimination everywhere they go. Many people have negative perceptions of people who use substances. They think that people who use drugs will always use drugs & that they are criminals. (11/?)
Many folks think: "You made this problem for yourself, I don’t want any part of it". They eye drug users warily, which means that when someone who has an addiction goes to the park, or to a movie, or to the library, they face discrimination. (12/?)
This results in a fear of simply being in the world; of starting conversations; of making connections. Many people who use drugs withdraw more & more until they are completely isolated and alone. (13/?)
There is also discrimination related to poverty, sex work, criminalization, & mental health conditions -- issues that many people who use drugs are also facing. This places a heavy weight on the shoulders of people who are doing their best to survive. (14/?)
Because of stigma, many people are too ashamed to admit they are using alcohol or other drugs, which means they are too ashamed to seek help with housing, medical conditions, or help related to their drug use. (15/?)
Shame is an incredibly powerful emotion that can have a terrible effect on people. Shame creates beliefs like: I’m a failure. I’m a bad person. I don’t deserve to be happy. Shame can make us feel like we don’t deserve to live. (16/?)
When this type of shame comes face to face with a society that stigmatizes drug use – when doctors & police & employers are telling drug users that they are failures – it becomes the only message they hear. And it’s deafening. (17/?)
It's important to be very clear about the consequences of stigma. When we live in a society that stigmatizes drug use & addiction, we are telling drug addicts that they are bad people. This is painful & isolating, both serious risk factors for people who use drugs. (18/?)
Combined with the overdose crisis, stigma & discrimination create conditions that result in a death sentence for drug users. We must all hold ourselves accountable for this. In order to put an end to preventable deaths, we MUST work to reduce shame. (19/?)
#RecoveryWorks , it's true. But it is not the only way for folks to thrive. I want us to examine our own complicity in the systems that continue to kill people who use drugs. I want joy & safety & health for every single person who uses drugs. (20/?)
, it's true. But it is not the only way for folks to thrive. I want us to examine our own complicity in the systems that continue to kill people who use drugs. I want joy & safety & health for every single person who uses drugs. (20/?)
So much love to the amazing people working to fight discrimination with love & community at @SisteringTO, who inspired this thread. They're wonderful -- please donate if you have the means: https://sistering.org #HarmReductionNow (/fin)
