UK:Half of us don't want ex-addicts next door: 'Junkie' stigma is ruining their lives

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edgarshade

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Daily Mail
By JACK DOYLE
Last updated at 12:01 AM on 17th December 2010

With reader comments

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ning-lives-says-report.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Nearly half of Britons would not want to live next to a former drug addict, a study reveals today.
The UK Drug Policy Commission says drug users who have beaten their addiction face widespread social stigma which prevents them from leading normal lives.
The report’s authors compare public attitudes to drug addiction to outdated perceptions of mental illness, and say the language used to describe addicts makes things worse.

‘Words such as “junkie” ought to be as unacceptable as “lunatic” or “psycho”,’ they say.
The report, Getting Serious About Stigma, found users who beat drugs reported having job offers withdrawn after their history of drug use was revealed. Others struggled to get health care.


Roger Howard, chief executive of the UKDPC, said: ‘Reintegration and recovery of drug users will simply not happen unless there are changes made to tackle stigma. Our proposals offer a starting point for making this a reality.’
The poll of 3,000 adults revealed mixed attitudes among the public towards addicts and former addicts.

Some 43 per cent said they would not want to live next door to a former addict. Just 41 per cent said they would be willing to work with former addicts.
And one in three said anyone thinking about entering a serious relationship with a former addict would be ‘foolish’, even if the addict had recovered fully.
More than half said they would not trust a recovered addict to act as a babysitter, and nearly six in ten said lack of willpower and self-discipline was the main reason people became addicts.
However, 81 per cent agreed it was important for recovering addicts to be ‘part of the normal community’. More than two thirds said current addicts should have access to the best possible care services.
The charity’s commissioner, Professor Colin Blakemore, said recovering users faced widespread prejudice, discrimination and discouragement.
So severe is the impact of public attitudes it undermines the confidence and self-esteem of drug users, making it harder for them to recover.
He said: ‘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 time again former drug users stigmatised and discriminated against when they try to access services.’
An estimated 330,000 people in England have drug dependency problems, and more than one in three of those seek treatment every year.
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Wow, so 81% said its important for addicts to reintigrate into society but less then half would be willing to live near them or work with them. Fucking idiots.
 
If u get busted for drugs it should not be recorded anywhere, then no1 would know ur a "junkie" and happily live next to you and hire you.
But noo we have to tattoo "JUNKIE" on the forheads of everyone who get busted.
 
wow the u.k is not really what that paper suggests that paper is a fount of all bullshit. Of course there is truth in it and stigma's are stigma's .If a junkie like me felt unjustifyably treated by health service or an employer i'd very sensibly go about getting my arse to a more understanding place,like i did recently with regards to my script valium n deathadone.firstly a brand new surgery i was with followed guide lines rigidly, so i had to leave it n go to one further away as it's older n they have far more experience at dealing with addicts.
For a job i'd start volunteering and from there i'm sure i could find work.
 
Well if they don't like it, they can fuck right off.

It's amazing how people's opinion about you changes once you mention you're an ex-addict.
 
This is the reason for prohibition. this one idea of an addict. its like how people claim they are tolerant and for equal rights, yet oppose same sex marriage because its not the natural order of things.

every single drug policy revolves around the idea of an addict. people hate them. no one wants to be their friends. no one cares about what they feel. accept drugs. no wonder hey.
 
thing is there is a difference between a functional addict (holding down a job and a home) and one who robs all day every day to supply their habit. my neighbour was addicted to heroin but robbed my house while we were on holiday, anyway he got off the smack bout 6 years ago but the police recently found out he had stolen the number plates off the car(in alley behind his house) of a neighbour who was crushed to death about a year ago on a building site. also £2000 worth of tools were stolen from a garage (about a month ago) with access from an alley that this guy also has access to. this thief alo had jobs working on building sites legitimately for years before problems started to resurface...

its not about the drug addiction, its about the fact that some people rob stuff. if you take a persons drug habit away things may be fine but if you have lived by theiving for years (which drugs push some people to do) then you may come to see that as a way to live. it becomes normal for you.

dont bite my head off- this is just what i have seen happen on my road (and i have been a victim of this one man crime wave bellend)
 
pofacedhoe said:
thing is there is a difference between a functional addict (holding down a job and a home) and one who robs all day every day to supply their habit. my neighbour was addicted to heroin but robbed my house while we were on holiday, anyway he got off the smack bout 6 years ago but the police recently found out he had stolen the number plates off the car(in alley behind his house) of a neighbour who was crushed to death about a year ago on a building site. also £2000 worth of tools were stolen from a garage (about a month ago) with access from an alley that this guy also has access to. this thief alo had jobs working on building sites legitimately for years before problems started to resurface...

its not about the drug addiction, its about the fact that some people rob stuff. if you take a persons drug habit away things may be fine but if you have lived by theiving for years (which drugs push some people to do) then you may come to see that as a way to live. it becomes normal for you.

dont bite my head off- this is just what i have seen happen on my road (and i have been a victim of this one man crime wave bellend)
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The thing is, people should go to jail and stuff for the theft, not drug addiction. Whether you steal to buy yourself a house and food, or steal for drugs, or steal because you get your rocks off that way, it's still a crime with a victim. Stealing from multinational corporations really isn't bad compared to stealing from individuals who go to work and all.

!_MDMA_! said:
um who gives a fuck who you live next to? as long as it's not a rapist/pedophile or something of the sort i could give two shits
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We had a landlord who didn't inform us the person living on the floor above us was a convicted rapist. That's pretty fucked up when you are a landlord and you won't tell the female tenants about it... :\ (I'm not female but my roommate was).
 
Captain.Heroin said:
The thing is, people should go to jail and stuff for the theft, not drug addiction. Whether you steal to buy yourself a house and food, or steal for drugs, or steal because you get your rocks off that way, it's still a crime with a victim. Stealing from multinational corporations really isn't bad compared to stealing from individuals who go to work and all.



We had a landlord who didn't inform us the person living on the floor above us was a convicted rapist. That's pretty fucked up when you are a landlord and you won't tell the female tenants about it... :\ (I'm not female but my roommate was).
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shit thats pretty bad-landlords aren't known for their honesty

yes drug use should not be the reason people end up in prison but stealing should. and i also agree that walking out of walmart/asda with a few freebies is not in the same league as stealing from an individual
 
For as long as "once an addict, always an addict" is an article of faith of the recovery industry, the public perception that those with substance abuse histories are always only a moment away from relapse is going to persist.

The treatment and recovery industry itself plays a powerful role in perpetuating the belief that one can never be a former addict - only an addict who's not actively using right now - and the average person on the street isn't going to question "expert" opinion.

At the more personal level, I think that a significant number of people have known addicts whose behaviour remained sketchy even once they were clean of their drug of choice - people who still lived the lifestyle of an addict even though they weren't using - and that just reinforces the "not in my backyard" attitude.
 
Lolie said:
At the more personal level, I think that a significant number of people have known addicts whose behaviour remained sketchy even once they were clean of their drug of choice - people who still lived the lifestyle of an addict even though they weren't using - and that just reinforces the "not in my backyard" attitude.
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This old timer I know with 40 some odd years sober always says "Just because you can get a drunk horse-thief sober, he's still a horse-thief." Anyone who's been around people trying to get clean knows all to well that a sober asshole is still an asshole if they're not taking major steps in their life to change the way they behave. Getting clean is just the first move. Starting to look at the way you act, and being willing to make major (and sometimes painful) changes in your life is necessary. Yeah, it's sad that addicts are looked on in a bad light, but the absolutely only way we're going to change people's opinion is to be the change we want them to see. It's going to be a long fight but i don't think addicts are going anywhere anytime soon. Might as well start now.
 
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