Take a person who is in treatment for opioid use but then relapses. Anticipated & internalized stigmas may drive that person to use drugs in riskier ways, such as not informing loved ones of the relapse, using drugs alone, and hiding their use. In this way, stigmas create holes in that person’s layers of safety. That person is at very high risk of dying of an overdose—they would not have naloxone, or anyone to get help, or anyone to revive them/ But even if people are using together, the way stigma appears in laws and policies can increase the risk of accidental death. A person might not call 911 during someone else’s accidental overdose for fear the police will arrest them under drug-induced homicide laws. A law restricting drug paraphernalia such as syringes could make it illegal to use drugs without risking accidental disease transmission. It’s also much easier for a doctor to prescribe an addictive drug than a drug that treats addiction. To prescribe OxyContin, doctors require no special training or certification beyond their medical degree. To prescribe buprenorphine—an opioid substitute treatment that helps a person addicted to opioids off their edge, allowing safe recovery in the privacy of their own home—doctors must fill out a pile of paperwork, get a special waiver from the Drug Enforcement Administration, and undergo an eight-hour training session. After all that, they’re only permitted to prescribe to a limited number of patients.
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Shauna GM
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