What is stigma? Is decriminalization helpful to reduce them?

What is stigma? According to the architects behind British Columbia’s drug decriminalization, stigma is like an internal psychological process.

Decriminalizing small amounts of opioids, cocaine, meth and ecstasy is intended to “help break down the barriers and stigma that prevent people from accessing life-saving support and services”.

With these “life saving” services, you get a secure supply of medicines provided by the same big companies that capitalized on the opioid crisis.

Now they are ready to benefit from “security of supply”. And BC Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is more than willing to provide scientific assistance.

But what is stigma? Imagine you openly do drugs on the street. Are the opinions of others really keeping you from “seeking life support and services”?

So I asked one of Canada’s few sane experts on the subject, Dr. Julian Somers.

“It took me a while to figure out what stigma meant,” he told CLN. “It’s like the scarlet letter,” he says.

But what does that mean?

What is the Scarlet Letter?

The phrase “scarlet letter” is a literary reference to a novel of the same name written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and published in 1850.

In the novel, a woman named Hester Prynne is required to wear a scarlet “A” on her clothing to symbolize her adultery and social disgrace. The letter serves as a visible reminder of her transgression, separating her from the rest of society.

The term “scarlet letter” is often used figuratively to describe any form of public shame or stigma carried by someone because of their actions or circumstances.

For example, a guy sitting on cardboard in the street asking for change isn’t literally wearing a physical symbol, but supposedly a “scale letter.”

When it comes to stigma and drug use, Dr. Somers, it’s about signs.

“There’s a sign from you,” he says. “Maybe you sound less formal or look a little malnourished, maybe you’ve got some piercings and ink on your neck or something. things like this.”

And indeed, if you’ve ever worked in retail or with the public, you know what Dr. Somers says.

A man wearing a suit and tie enters a grocery store and walks around looking for a specific product. No problem.

A man in an oversized hoodie with a neck tattoo and some piercings doing the same? You follow them every step of the way.

So what is BC’s drug decriminalization doing to reduce stigma?

Does decriminalization reduce stigma?

What is stigma? It’s about the signs you have that tell others what kind of person you are. One of those significant signs is employment.

Suppose you are a middle-class professional with a job and you develop a drug problem that is negatively affecting your life and relationships. If this is the case, you will be given a number of treatment options.

You get the Secure Care treatment option if you are poor and unemployed.

“About what Dr. Bonnie Henry speaking is a big reduction in stigma,” says Somers. “We need to reduce the stigma, we need to make it easier for people to ask for help. But when faced with a decision, say about one of her children becoming addicted to fentanyl, benzos, cocaine or alcohol – what’s her game? Will she say yes, I will put my child on safe care? Or is she sending the kid to Betty Ford? And I think it’s the latter.”

dr Somers is right. And when done, BC decriminalization breeds stigma.

After all, how exactly does security of supply “destigmatize”? Especially if you are employed and given a completely different treatment option.

“If it’s not for your own loved ones, then who is it for?” asks dr Somers. “And if it’s people who have different zodiac signs than your loved ones, then it’s a pro-Stimga intervention. You actually practice stigma.”

How to reduce stigma

BC provides taxpayer-funded medicines to people with mental health problems. You are not doing what is required to help these people move on.

Children cannot visit their drug-addicted parents in many treatment centers and residential units.

On paper, that might seem like a good idea. But in reality, it prevents the relationships addicts need to connect with loved ones and get off substance abuse.

The problem isn’t drugs. It’s people’s relationship with them. BC decriminalization does not address this. dr Bonnie Henry engages in duplicity.

“To say they are against stigma is Orwellian,” says Dr. Somers. And yet they seem unaware of it.