The UK government’s drugs strategy will fail unless the widespread stigma towards former addicts is tackled head on, a leading drug policy think-tank said last week.
Only two in five people would be willing to work with or live next to someone with a history of drug dependence but four in 10 agreed it was important for ex-addicts to be part of the “normal community”, according to a survey by the UK Drug Policy Commission (UKDPC).
It came as former Labour Cabinet minister Bob Ainsworth, at one time in charge of drugs policy as a Home Office minister, called for all drugs to be legalised and was dismissed as “irresponsible” by the party leadership.
The UKDPC survey of almost 3,000 adults in the UK showed broad support for rehabilitation but fear and confusion about former addicts.
It also found one in three people felt it would be foolish to enter a serious relationship with someone who has suffered from drug dependence, even if they seemed fully recovered.
The government’s strategy showed a shift in focus from reducing the harms caused by drugs to recovery as the most effective route out of dependency, with users who are taking steps to become drug-free offered tailored support for their needs.
Addicts could also be stripped of benefits if they refuse treatment and fail to meet the normal requirements for support.
But professor Colin Blakemore, UKDPC commissioner and former chief executive of the Medical Research Council, said: “If the Government’s drug strategy is to succeed, it must first address this very real barrier of stigma.
“Our research shows that the public agree that recovering drugs users need help and support to help rebuild their lives.
“But they are also seen as blameworthy and to be feared. These public attitudes spill over into public services. So we see time and again former drug users stigmatised and discriminated against when they try to access services.”
He went on: “It’s in everyone’s interests that drug users are helped to recover, to rehabilitate, to reintegrate into society and not to be a drain on public resources.
“But the present widespread stigma against people who have had problems with drugs is a significant barrier to their recovery.”
The UKDPC called for more awareness of the “positive effects of rehabilitation and the dangers of stigmatisation”, more action to address “institutionalised stigma” and the promotion of increased contact with recovering drug users.