Increasing Awareness and Understanding of Problematic Substance Use Reducing Alcohol-Related Harms Addressing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Preventing the Problematic Use of Pharmaceuticals Addressing Enforcement Issues Sustaining Workforce Development Implementing a National Research Agenda and Facilitating Knowledge Transfer Improving the quality, accessibility and range of options to treat harmful substance use including substance use disorders (Treatment) Modernizing Legislative, Regulatory and Policy Frameworks Focusing on Children and Youth Reaching Out to Canada’s North Supporting First Nations, Inuit and Métis People in Addressing Their Needs Responding to Offender-Related Issues Raising Public Awareness About Addictions: Creating Momentum for Action National Alcohol Policy Thematic Workshop National Thematic Workshop on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Preventing the Harmful Use of Psychotropic Pharmaceuticals National Thematic Workshop on Enforcement Police and Policing Partners: Supply Management and Demand Reduction Workforce Development Thematic Workshop National Thematic Workshop on Research National Thematic Workshop on Improving the Quality, Accessibility, and Range of Options to Treat Harmful Substance Use Including Substance Use Disorders (Treatment) National Thematic Workshop on Corrections National Symposium on Language
 
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Increasing Awareness and Understanding of Problematic Substance Use

Although problematic substance use directly or indirectly affects many Canadians, the issue does not receive the same profile as that accorded to other health and social problems. It has been suggested that language and attitudes relative to problematic substance use may act as a barrier to understanding and responding effectively to the issue and contribute to stigmatization and discrimination. This not only affects the individual who uses drugs, but his or her family as well. It is also suggested that the stigma associated with problematic substance use is partly responsible for how policy issues are approached and how resources are allocated.

Raising awareness and understanding of problematic substance use, which would in turn minimize the stigma associated with it, is recognized as a necessary first step that will help facilitate the achievement of other priorities. To accomplish this, sustained, comprehensive and coordinated approaches, initiated early and supported by public policy, are required and should include: public education at the national, provincial/ territorial and regional levels aimed at de-stigmatizing problematic substance use, without minimizing the negative behaviours and consequences that may be associated with this use; conveying the message that problematic substance use is often linked to other illnesses such as mental illness and other determinants of health; building consensus around common definitions and terminology such as misuse, abuse, dependence, addiction and drug related harms; and involving those most affected in the formulation of the messages and terminology.

Update

On March 2-3, 2006 the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba convened a thematic workshop. Raising Public Awareness About Addictions: Creating Momentum for Action to:

  • identify four to six specific priority "information pieces" that, through dissemination to the public, will initiate a paradigm shift towards a "de-stigmatization" of addictions;
  • identify a single or easy to understand message that through repeated delivery via various communication mechanisms will begin to shift the cultural attitude toward addictions;
  • identify key strategies and players that will lead the dissemination of the above information pieces and key message; and
  • identify baseline measures that will provide a benchmark for monitoring the paradigm shift over time.

Discussions are ongoing on how to approach the development of an appropriate national strategy to address this priority issue.  If your organization has an interest in exploring this issue further contact the Secretariat.