Try treating addicts with compassion
Chances are you have probably read the phrase "stigma surrounding addiction" in some form or another, but, like the terms "gluten-free" and "President Trump," they begin to lose all meaning after a while.
What is meant by the stigma those with addiction face is the idea that because people are addicted to drugs or alcohol they are somehow lesser, disgraced, more likely to commit crimes, and they more or less deserve the situation they are in.
You would be hard pressed to find a young child who wants to grow up to be addicted to drugs. It bothers me just as much as the "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" mentality applied to those of little financial means.
The thinking is backward, and really pokes at a peeve for me that is so large I hesitate to call it "pet."
In an effort to sort this huge amount of data from across the world in our heads, we rely on painting swaths of people with a broad brush, metaphorically of course.
Once you start paying attention, you'd be surprised how many times you find people, or yourself, saying things like, "Young people always…" or, "I hate the way Americans…" and on it goes.
I've banged this drum before, but it's worth repeating. Generalizing and fearmongering are not a way to conduct the important conversations society needs to have moving forward.
Groups of people don't do things. We're not a swarm of bees. We are all individuals. And a diverse array of individuals in this province needs help. This is a provincial and national health crisis.
The past three or four decades have shown quite clearly the current way of approaching issues of drugs and addiction are not working. The amount of times I've seen someone with a methamphetamine addiction cycle through the criminal justice system is uncountable. No amount of funding or policy changes will turn the tide without a massive shift in our culture.
In the many conversations I get to have as a journalist, I have had Crown and defence lawyers, addiction counsellors, artists and people from all walks of life point to Portugal.
Abandoning the holier-than-thou attitude, at least when it comes to government policy, by decriminalizing drugs, has had a positive statistical impact.
Yes, it goes against everything you, myself and almost everyone was taught as a kid, but drug users are not inherently amoral. As it turns out, telling people to "just say no" didn't work.
Addiction needs to be treated like any other illness and, most importantly, our culture of finger wagging needs to get over itself.
My grandfather was an alcoholic, and so many people came to his funeral to share their stories there were barely enough seats in the large hall.
It was because of his work with Alcoholics Anonymous that dozens came to the podium to share stories of how my grandfather saved their lives from alcoholism, and how he did so with compassion, not judgment.