Understanding Substance Use Stigma

ABSTRACT

Stigma remains a problem for people with substance use issues, resulting in serious consequences to their wellbeing. Significant attention has focused on mental health stigma, but less consideration has been given to stigma related to substance use. Research on substance use stigma tends to root substance use issues in individual deficiency and personal responsibility, often neglecting broader social and structural issues of power, exclusion, and inequity. This conceptual article examines how substance use stigma is understood and theorized, and considers implications and recommendations for substance use research, policy, and practice to support a more complex understanding of substance use stigma.

KEYWORDS:

• Intersectionality
• social control
• stigma
• structural violence
• substance use

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.