The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy is releasing a document outlining suggested language for government agencies — and those they pay — to use when referring to people addicted to drugs and alcohol. “Drug abuser,” for example, should be replaced with “person with substance use disorder.” Even the idea of trying to get “clean” is discouraged; patients are instead to be said to be “in recovery.”
The recommendations are aimed at reducing stigma against individuals with addictions, Office of National Drug Control Policy Commissioner Michael Botticelli and public-health professor Howard Koh write in an essay published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The social stigma against people with mental-health illnesses, including addiction, remains harsh. And that can be harmful for those seeking help. “Stigma isolates people, discourages people from coming forward for treatment, and leads some clinicians, knowingly or unknowingly, to resist delivering evidence-based treatment services,” Botticelli and Koh write, citing two studies.
[For more of this story, written by Francie Diep, go to https://psmag.com/dont-say-dru...5bf0566d1#.9fdadlvkr]
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