While we know all too well that substance use disorder (SUD) devastates the lives of individuals, families, and communities … so does stigma. It causes shame, ruins careers and isolates individuals and families when they most need support. But at its worst, stigma prevents treatment as well as potentially increasing the need for substances — because the resulting shame and isolation keeps people in active addiction.
Ending stigma in communities starts with treating addiction like a treatable disease rather than a moral failing. The disgrace and shame associated with addiction is the biggest barrier to treatment, and treatment saves lives.
What can you do to save a life?
Naloxone is a prescription medicine that reverses an opioid overdose by temporarily bumping opioids off their receptors. It cannot be used to get high and is not addictive. Naloxone is safe and effective; emergency medical professionals have used it for decades.
Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams is urging more Americans to keep naloxone on hand and learn how to use it to save lives in the first national public health advisory in thirteen years.
Bottom line: it saves lives
Stigma about naloxone (known by the name brand Narcan®) often focuses on two key myths: First, that the use of naloxone in an overdose encourages people with SUD to continue using. Second, that naloxone will prevent those same people from seeking treatment. As we’ve heard time and time again, people have to be alive to seek recovery — and naloxone gives people that chance.
By supporting the availability of Naloxone in your community, you help fight stigma by showing that you value those with SUD — and support helping them without judgment. Get educated on naloxone, carry it, ask about how to get it, talk to others about it.
Training for Community Members
The Overdose Response Program is FREE and open to anyone who would like to learn:
- How opioids impact the brain and body
- How to recognize the signs and symptoms of opioid overdose
- How to administer naloxone
- How to care for someone who is having an overdose until emergency help arrives