CRM2302 - Written Assignment

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University of Ottawa *

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2302

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Sociology

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Jan 9, 2024

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1 Drugged up Stigma: The Stigmatization of Drug Addicts Department of Social Science: Criminology, University of Ottawa CRM2302A Professor Carolyn Gordon April 2, 2023

2 Addict. Druggie. Dopehead. Junkie. Stoner. Fiend. Burnout. Tweaker. These, and many more, are terms used to describe individuals with drug addictions. Labels like these create a negative and damaging image around these people. Why does society use terms like this to describe drug addicts rather than describing them as an individual struggling, seeking help, or in an unfortunate situation? It is usually understood that drug addicts are dysfunctional, minorities, criminals, and homeless. In reality, many people who are addicted to substances never experience homelessness, but an individual that is experiencing housing instability has an increased risk of losing their home if they use substances (Eugenia D.P. & Pankratz, 2007). Those harmful labels were created and upheld through stereotypes and subsequent discrimination perpetuated by media, medical institutions, political figures, and educational teachings. Media is a catalyst in influencing the public perception of people and situations. Social media and media producers decide what is shown and how it is depicted in order to arouse particular emotions from the audience. A situation can be easily manipulated through how it is presented and what information is shared. When it comes to the media's depiction of drug users, popular media and cinema have contributed to the stigmatization of drug users by depicting them as dangerous, “junkies,” or losers, and news media often links drug use and people of color with criminality (Brown & Midberry, 2022). In correlation to the stigma of the criminalization of drug use is a belief that addiction represents an individual's moral failure or defect in decision-making. A specific example of this occurring is in the media coverage of the crack cocaine crisis during the 1980s. During this time the media created a narrative of moral failings on the part of low-income African Americans (Russel et al., 2020). This representation conveying addiction as a moral failure “promotes drug use as a vice that is inherently wrong and represents people who use drugs as irresponsible, self-destructive, and risk-taking outsiders” (Russel et al., pg. 85,

3 2020). Not only are low-income African American communities depicted as moral failures when it comes to their drug use, but also as predators and drug pushers. In recent years, media coverage creates an image of white drug users as being victims of predatory drug dealers who are most commonly shown as people of colour (Brown & Midberry, 2022). Media creates stigmas, discrimination, and panic surrounding drug users by maintaining the links of “bad” drug users being people of colour and criminals. “Drugs cause crime” or “If you use drugs you will become a criminal”. These are statements heard all over new coverages, specifically made by politicians. Drug addiction, addict recovery, and the regulation of drugs is a largely political issue that has stigmatization glued to them. It is not unusual to see political figures stating in their campaign that there is a problem with drugs and that they have a solution for it; they create a moral panic around a drug claiming it is a crisis and offering themselves as the key to fixing it. These figures view drug users and recovering addicts as a political strategy to get ahead. One of the most popular examples of this would be Richard Nixon's “War on Drugs” in the 1970s. Nixon was one of the biggest influences in the politicization of viewing drug addiction as inherently criminal. This is an idea that remained rooted for many years until drug addiction was decided to be better viewed as a mental illness rather than a criminal offense around 2017 (Brown & Midberry, 2020). The War on Drugs is presented as a war on crime, and the outcome of this is the targeting of already marginalized communities due to pre-existing racial stereotypes. Nixon’s War on Drugs has contributed to a system of social control that targets low-income Black and Latinx communities (Rosino & Hughey, 2018). For example, in the United States, “of the 277,000 people imprisoned nationwide for a drug offense in 2013, 56% were African American or Latinx even though together those groups accounted for about a quarter of the US population” (Volkow, pg. 2048, 2021). This

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4 social control is built on violence, force, imprisonment, and racial oppression (Rosino & Hughey, 2018). The political influence on drug addiction perpetuates stereotypes of predatory minorities and continues to maintain racial discrimination within laws and legal procedures. As mentioned, there was a shift in how drug addiction was commonly viewed. In 2017, drug addiction went from being viewed as criminal to being viewed as a disease. The medicalization of addiction is said to have helped alleviate and manage public stigma. That being said, research shows that drug addiction is still the most stigmatized diagnosis in the medical field. This research also aligns with studies showing that the public still views addiction as a moral failure by an individual. A drug user's understanding of public stigma also poses a barrier to being able to access treatment (Rundle et al., 2021). There is also a racial divide in treatment practices. Research done in the U.S. shows that Black and Hispanic individuals are more likely to be incarcerated than placed in a drug treatment program upon arrest. Furthermore, the same study shows that African Americans attempting to access addiction treatment are faced with greater delays in receiving treatment compared to their white counterpart. Delays in treatment will cause greater progression of drug use, more difficulty in treatment, and an increased likelihood of overdose (Volkow, 2021). The medicalization of drug addiction has done little to manage public stigma, especially toward minority groups struggling with addiction. The continued public stigma creates a difficult environment for drug abusers to access help due to a fear of being shamed by those around them and for feeling their own internalized shame. School, family, and close friends all have a large influence on an individual's decisions and understanding of drugs. School plays a substantial role in educating youth on responsible drug use and teaching them the harmful effects that drugs can have. Society has witnessed programs like D.A.R.E. make their cycles through schools and have them fall through. With

5 programs like this either falling through or having a low success rate, kids are struggling to learn about the impact of drugs. A study done in secondary schools across the UK depicts that the majority of students do not recall having any form of drug education in their schools, and the rest recall having very little teaching on the subject. Teachers from that study also recognized that drug education was not a priority in school (Fletcher et al., 2010). When teenagers cannot learn about the effects of drugs in an educational setting like schools then they are only exposed to it through other realms of knowledge. This leaves them to be taught what drug abuse and addiction are through means like social media, which create biased imagery and manipulate information; leaving impressionable minds to accept and continue the stigma they are exposed to. Relationships with family and friends help to create an individual's self-image and understanding of shame. An absent or disruptive family often leads to a higher risk of substance abuse due to instability and the need to feel fulfillment at a fast pace (Harrenkohl et al., 2012, Mate, 2008). Without the emotional support and the feeling of acceptance that an individual needs from close relationships, the risk of turning to drugs for those needs increases. In a neo-liberal capitalist society, like that in which Canada is based in currently, people are expected to move where the jobs are, value certain things, function in certain ways, and take care of themselves without the need for help. This is amplified by the existing social institutions. This type of system makes personal worth and social integration amount to the capability to gain status symbols and wealth. In the absence of those essential integrations, the absence of identification with those social networks causes people to feel psychologically and socially separated. Failing to live up to the normative standards of society, these individuals find their freedom through a non-conforming approach, drug use (Mate, 2008). Most drug users do not attempt to manage their stigma by attempting to change public opinion of them as an individual,

6 they attempt to manage the stigma by stigmatizing themselves. They participate in the stigma management strategy of capitulation; the acceptance and fulfillment of the stereotypes associated with the stigma attached to drug addiction (Gordan, 2023). Drug abusers will self-stigmatize after “absorbing the negative social attitudes towards drug addictions, addictive behaviours, and “addicts”” (Matthews et al., 2017). Other times, those struggling with drug addictions manage stigma by concealing their addiction from those around them or fabricating the seriousness of their drug use. Close friends and family of drug abusers also face courtesy stigma from the community, often being blamed for the fate of the drug user (Dyregrov & Selseng, 2022). The topic of this essay is not to support the act of abusing drugs but to instead defend the individuals facing stigma for participating in the act. The stereotypes and shame that drug abusers face produce a difficult process for those individuals to access the help they need. It is not to say that addiction to drugs should be normalized into acceptance but that acceptance of the person in order allows them to feel less shame in the act of asking for assistance. Alongside that, research and procedural change are necessary to address the racial disparities in dealing with addiction. Lowering stigma and creating a fair and equal environment to receive treatment will assist in advancing toward high-quality addiction care for those who require it (Volkow, 2021). Persons addicted to drugs deserve the same opportunities for treatment and support no matter their class, gender, or race. Instead of placing harmful labels on those who need help from those around them, communities should be attempting to show compassion. Works Cites

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7 Brown, D. K., & Midberry, J. (2022). Social Media News Production, Emotional Facebook Reactions, and the Politicization of Drug Addiction. Health Communication, 37 (3), 375–383. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2020.1846265 Dyregrov, K., & Selseng, L. B. (2022). “Nothing to mourn, He was just a drug addict” - stigma towards people bereaved by drug-related death. Addiction Research & Theory, 30 (1), 5–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2021.1912327 Eugenia, D. P., & Pankratz, N. (2007, Substance Use: Pathways to homelessness? Or a way of adapting to street life? Visions: BC’s Mental Health and Substance Use Journal, 4 , 9-10. https://login.proxy.bib.uottawa.ca/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/magazines/substa nce-use-pathways-homelessness-way-adapting/docview/2231811068/se-2 Gordan, C. (2023, April 5th). Stigma Management. [Managing Stigma]. Fletcher, A., Bonell, C., & Sorhaindo, A. (2010). “We don’t have no drugs education”: The myth of universal drugs education in English secondary schools? The International Journal of Drug Policy, 21 (6), 452–458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2010.09.009 Herrenkohl, T. I., Lee, J. O., Kosterman, R., & Hawkins, J. D. (2012). Family Influences Related to Adult Substance Use and Mental Health Problems: A Developmental Analysis of Child and Adolescent Predictors. Journal of Adolescent Health, 51 (2), 129–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2011.11.003

8 Mate, G. (2008). In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts. Knopf Canada. Matthews, S., Dwyer, R., & Snoek, A. (2017). Stigma and Self-Stigma in Addiction. Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, 14 (2), 275–286. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-017-9784-y Rosino, M. L., & Hughey, M. W. (2018). The War on Drugs, Racial Meanings, and Structural Racism: A Holistic and Reproductive Approach. The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 77 (3-4), 849–892. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajes.12228 Rundle, S. M., Cunningham, J. A., & Hendershot, C. S. (2021). Implications of addiction diagnosis and addiction beliefs for public stigma: A cross ‐ national experimental study. Drug and Alcohol Review, 40 (5), 842–846. https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13244 Russell, D., Thames, K. M., Spence, N. J., & Koeval, C. M. (2020). Where the Fault Lies: Representations of Addiction in Audience Reactions to Media Coverage of the Opioid Epidemic. Contemporary Drug Problems, 47 (2), 83–102. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091450920929102 Volkow, N. D. (2021). Addiction should be treated, not penalized. Neuropsychopharmacology (New York, N.Y.), 46 (12), 2048–2050. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-021-01087-2

CRM2302 - Written Assignment

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