A person runs previous sneakers held on the Burrard Bridge in Vancouver in remembrance of victims of illicit drug overdoses on International Overdose Awareness Day in August 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Substance use dysfunction is a power however treatable medical situation.
Unlike different bodily and psychological well being circumstances, nevertheless, substance use dysfunction — or dependancy — has traditionally been seen as an ethical failing and was for a few years relegated to the fringes of the medical neighborhood.
Instead of receiving remedy in an accessible medical setting, many people went untreated or turned to a largely unregulated system of private and non-private remedy choices. Drug use was criminalized and since many nonetheless imagine that individuals who use medication are partaking in intentionally deviant behaviour, we frequently select to punish, somewhat than deal with, drug dependancy.
That’s why British Columbia’s current transfer to get rid of prison penalties for the possession of small quantities of illicit medication for private use is a vital step towards the decriminalization of dependancy.
The risks of stigma
Policies that label drug customers as criminals solely improve the stigma skilled by folks trying to handle a debilitating and generally life-threatening well being situation, and in lots of circumstances hamper and even stop them from receiving acceptable medical remedy.
Stigma surrounding drug use and dependancy has an unlimited impression on the social determinants of well being and remedy outcomes for particular person customers. Criminal convictions stemming from drug use can impression somebody’s skill to safe housing and employment. And perceptions of stigma and discrimination can stop or delay folks with substance use issues from looking for remedy.
A current examine discovered that just about half of respondents reported perceiving stigma due to their dependancy from family and friends, from work colleagues and even from medical suppliers.
In some circumstances, worry of unfavourable opinions from folks of their social circles is one purpose individuals who know they need assistance with substance use don’t pursue remedy.
Instead of receiving remedy, many people with dependancy go untreated, and for a few of them, their first publicity to remedy can come on account of involvement with the prison justice system.
Jennifer Whiteside, B.C.’s minister of psychological well being and addictions, steps away from the rostrum after talking throughout a information convention in Vancouver about B.C.’s decriminalization coverage.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A current report discovered that three in 4 folks in jail in B.C. have a substance use dysfunction or different psychological well being situation, and half of federal prisoners report that their arrest was ultimately associated to substance use.
And whereas most incarcerated folks do have entry to some type of remedy, a lot of that remedy isn’t based mostly on finest practices and the expertise of incarceration can worsen their dependancy and their bodily and psychological well being.
Improving remedy choices
Decriminalization has an vital position to play in recharacterizing dependancy as a power well being situation as a substitute of a prison exercise, decreasing the stigma related to drug use and bettering remedy choices for this weak inhabitants.
Studies in Portugal, which decriminalized all illicit medication in 2001 and shifted to a harm-reduction strategy to substance use, have proven important reductions in drug-related diseases and mortality.
Importantly, sources that have been beforehand dedicated to the prosecution and imprisonment of drug customers in Portugal are actually accessible for remedy. And as a result of the general public has witnessed these enhancements, there was no substantial push to return to a prison mannequin of drug use.
A teen checks his telephone by the Tagus River at Lisbon’s Comercio sq. in January 2023. Portugal decriminalized all arduous medication greater than 20 years in the past.
(AP Photo/Armando Franca)
B.C.’s resolution to decriminalize the possession of solely small quantities of medication isn’t with out its critics. Many level out that the allowable quantity of medication, 2.5 grams, is lower than a each day provide for a lot of, and is particularly unhelpful for many who should journey lengthy distances to buy medication.
Harm discount disappointments
Other hurt discount methods which were applied since B.C. declared drug use a public well being emergency in 2016 have usually come up quick. Safe provide packages have been restricted to a small variety of customers, and protected consumption websites have been unavailable to customers who smoke, though inhaled medication account for a lot of drug-related overdoses within the province.
Read extra:
Supervised consumption websites cut back drug overdoses and illness transmission — and deserve authorities assist
It’s additionally nonetheless tough for many individuals who do search remedy for dependancy to search out accessible remedy suppliers locally.
Notwithstanding these ongoing challenges, the prison justice system isn’t the suitable place to deal with folks with dependancy — and decriminalization represents a alternative to reply with remedy, not punishment.
While B.C. has an extended solution to go in its strategy to the remedy of dependancy, decriminalization is a vital step towards decreasing the stigma related to drug use. In flip, it’ll enhance particular person outcomes and cut back the numerous impression that the criminalization of medication has on public well being.
Sara Gordon doesn’t work for, seek the advice of, personal shares in or obtain funding from any firm or group that will profit from this text, and has disclosed no related affiliations past their educational appointment.
