New federal government research says that stigmatizing views about opioid use disorder 91裸聊视频� unfair perceptions and disapproval of people who take these drugs 91裸聊视频� continue to be held by a significant portion of the population.

One in four respondents held stigmatizing views against people who use opioids, one in four had sympathetic views, and half held a mix of the two, with the rates holding steady since the research was first conducted in 2017.

Prepared for Health Canada, the research was carried out from December 2021 to January of this year, and the results were recently made publicly available.

Opioids, which can be obtained by prescription or illegally, are a type of pain-relieving drug and may also induce feelings of euphoria.

Since January 2016, over 29,000 Canadians have died from opioid-related causes, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

While advocates say they are cautious about some of the research results, they agree the government can do more to reduce stigma against people who use opioids.

Eugenia Oviedo-Joekes, a professor at the University of British Columbia91裸聊视频檚 School of Public Health, said the methodology of the poll means the results can91裸聊视频檛 be generalized to the broader Canadian population.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 a self-selected group,91裸聊视频� she said, noting the poll invited participants of an online panel to voluntarily complete the survey in exchange for rewards.

Despite the survey91裸聊视频檚 limitations, its findings could still be useful, said Oviedo-Joekes, who researches addiction.

While people know that the opioid crisis is an issue, she said, 91裸聊视频淚 think we need to now work on decoding for people why this is an issue.91裸聊视频�

The report said that teens aged 13 to 15 have less familiarity with opioids and the crisis, noting that four in five of them name their parents as one of their most trusted information sources.

Oviedo-Joekes says parents of teens generally aren91裸聊视频檛 talking to their kids much about harm reduction for opioids.

While about 70 per cent of parents of those young people say they talk to their kids about drugs in general, only one in three have talked about drug or opioid overdoses, and 17 per cent have discussed how to get help for opioid use.

If teens think parents are a good information source, but those parents are not talking to the kids about the key issues, she said, 91裸聊视频淲ow, there is an opportunity there to work.91裸聊视频�

The findings present an opportunity for the government to target parents in campaigns, said Oviedo-Joekes.

91裸聊视频淵outh are also dying of overdoses.91裸聊视频�

Andr茅a Richer, a Health Canada spokesperson, said in 2018 the department launched a multi-year campaign to raise awareness of the opioids crisis, educate Canadians on the risks and highlight the effects of stigma against people who use drugs.

The government has been running an awareness program for teens and young adults over the last four years, involving over 1,100 high school sessions, Richer said in a statement.

Health Canada has also launched a website to share 91裸聊视频渞eal stories of how substance use stigma impacts people,91裸聊视频� she said.

Garth Mullins, a member of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, said despite federal public awareness campaigns to reduce stigma against opioid use, the government91裸聊视频檚 own actions undermine those efforts.

91裸聊视频淭hey think stigma is just out there in the world. All the little people have bad ideas in their heads about drug users,91裸聊视频� Mullins said.

The source of the 91裸聊视频渂ad ideas91裸聊视频� is from the government itself, through its laws and policies which promote a prohibition approach to illicit drug use and harm people who use drugs by treating them as 91裸聊视频渙utsiders,91裸聊视频� he said.

91裸聊视频淲ho do we criminalize and arrest, and who91裸聊视频檚 not criminalized and arrested? That91裸聊视频檚 where people get their ideas about stigma from,91裸聊视频� said Mullins.

The way that police, the medical system and the government work creates and reproduces stigma against people who use drugs, he said.

Both Oviedo-Joekes and Mullins pointed out the survey makes no mention of a safe supply of drugs or decriminalization of personal drug possession, two solutions for which advocates have been long calling to address the opioid crisis and the toxic drug supply that is driving it.

Mullins said 91裸聊视频渢he best advertisement for not stigmatizing drug users91裸聊视频� would be for the federal government to declare a public health emergency about the opioid crisis, akin to what was done in British Columbia in 2016.

91裸聊视频淭hey ought to do it. It doesn91裸聊视频檛 necessarily revolutionize the world, but it certainly can help them move a bunch of small regulatory hurdles. And it would send this giant message about stigma, if this is a public health campaign.91裸聊视频�

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2022.

91裸聊视频�-

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

Erika Ibrahim, The Canadian Press