stigma & discrimination

Many of us still believe that dependency is a character flaw or weakness that probably can't be cured. The stigma against people with dependencies is so deeply rooted that it continues even in the face of the scientific evidence that dependency is a treatable disease and even when we know people in our families and communities living wonderful lives in long-term recovery.

Untreated dependency costs lives, destroys families and poses an enormous drain on the economy. Yet public misunderstanding of this illness pervades the national consciousness. Public education can help people to understand that dependency is a treatable illness, not a moral failing.

Improved public awareness of the realities of dependency can save lives - by encouraging people with alcohol and other drug related problems to seek help early in the progression of their illness. The fear of being labelled as an addict, fired from a job or ousted from a home keeps people from coming forward.

People who are victims of stigma internalise the hate it carries, transforming it to shame and hiding from its effects. Too often, people with drug and alcohol problems and their families begin to accept the ideas that dependency is their own fault and that maybe they are too weak to do anything about it. in many ways, hiding a dependency problem is the rational thing to do.

Drug addiction is a complex illness characterised by intense, at times uncontrollable drug craving, along with compulsive drug seeking and use that persist even in the face of devastating consequences. While the path to addiction begins with the act of taking drugs or alcohol voluntary overtime a person’s ability to choose not to do so becomes compromised, and seeking and consuming the addiction becomes compulsive. This behaviour results largely from the effects of prolonged drug exposure on brain functioning. Addiction is a brain disease that affects multiple brain circuits, including those involved in reward and motivation, learning and memory, and inhibitory control over behaviour.

Everyone at New Highway is committed to supporting, guiding and removing the stigma associated with addiction.