"Nice People Take Drugs" -- London's New Anti-Stigma Campaign
A bizarre new approach to tackling the stigma of drug use recently hit the streets of London, England. Release, a human rights advocacy organization for drug users in the UK, has launched an ad, spread across the famous London double-decker buses, announcing that "Nice People Take Drugs."
According to an article published in The Guardian newspaper, with one in three adults in the UK having taken illegal drugs at some time, and with the last three US presidents admitting to past drug use, this is hardly a controversial statement.
The intention of the campaign is to get people talking about drug use, and to reduce stigma. They want to shift the perception that drug users are ‘bad’ and that all drug use is ‘evil’. Instead, Release argue that the greatest risk to the majority of these people is criminalisation and stigmatisation. Instead of punishing users, they suggest society re-focus on reducing harm and restricting children's access to drugs through different approaches.
Acknowledging that, for a minority, drugs and alcohol can have disastrous consequences, Release assert that these problems are only exacerbated by the current laws and are better addressed with robust and comprehensive public health campaigns.
“for a minority, drugs and alcohol can have disastrous consequences” – This statement seems at odds with much that the media tells us, and with my family experience. Any addictive substances may lead to abuse and can wreak havoc. Sometimes the effects are limited to just one person – the abuser. But those in the abuser’s family and workplace may also suffer the impact of changes in behavior, finances, etc. It seems odd to me, to see such a statement on a site devoted to addictions.
There is certainly a bias within the media that alcohol and drug use is devastating (although there is also a lot of media hype suggesting alcohol is beneficial to health). In reality, research shows that only a minority of people who use drugs, drink alcohol, or engage in any other addictive behaviors such as gambling, eating, shopping, exercising, playing video games or having sex develop addictions or other problems. For more information on what constitutes an addiction, read this.
http://addictions.about.com/od/howaddictionhappens/a/defaddiction.htm
It seems to me this is all geared to simply establish a “community mindset” for further legalization/decriminalization regarding drug use.
Trying times calls for further taxations,and what is a more prolific target market – perhaps prostitution?