Four Carleton students have created a social media campaign called #StigmaEndsatCU to encourage conversations about drug use and ending the use of derogatory language when talking about substance use.
Leah Scott, Olivia Turner, Sydney Hart and Isabel Mertick-Sykes, who are all in the same fourth-year neuroscience addictions class, chose to start the campaign after learning about it from their professor.
Turner said the campaign is online because social media is one of the best ways to engage with university students.
“We looked at the generation we’re in—more of us than not are on social media, and that’s a quick, efficient, and easy way to reach people, especially students in university,” she said.
According to Hart, the campaign is important because it addresses both the substance users as well as those around them.
“This campaign is important because of the effect stigma has on not just the people who are using drugs but the people around them as well,” she said in an email. “The stigma around addiction prevents people from getting the help they need and stops people from seeing the person behind the addiction. It is important that people understand that addiction is a disease and that people are more than their addiction.”
Scott said the stigma surrounding substance use and addiction can cause a person a lot of shame, which why is the campaign encourages people to use “person-centred language.”
“Usually it’s the stigma that prevents the people from seeking treatment and care,’ she said “Instead of using words like ‘junkie’ and ‘addict,’ use ‘person with a substance use disorder’ or ‘experiencing a substance use disorder.’”
