At Issue: Reporting on the toxic opioid supply crisis

The toxic drug supply crisis has caused an estimated 20,000 deaths in Canada since 2016. 

While it’s one of the most urgent health crisis in our country, many conversations surrounding the crisis are often weighed down with outdated and harmful language. 

In early February, the CBC reported how Barrie’s downtown BIA chairperson, Rob Hamilton, was recorded speaking about people who use drugs as “those people” and mentioning how he needs to “get rid of them.” 

Hamilton states that people who use opioids are “not productive, contributing citizens” of Barrie. That's a falsehood that many advocates BCM has spoken to say reflects prejudice and a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of the toxic drug crisis. 

As well, many BIA board members used the term “safe injection site” as opposed to “supervised consumption site,” the emphasis on injection reaffirms long-standing stigma. 

Sarah Tilley, harm reduction coordinator at The Gilbert Centre says there are many ways journalists and anyone speaking about the health crisis can keep the conversation focused on the real issue. 

Specifically, that’s the unregulated supply of Opioids. When people use language that focuses on addiction, or dependence, that misses the heart of the issue. 

“Those words are used interchangeably, and it can create a lot of stigma and misunderstanding. I personally try and refrain from using language rooted in medical diagnosis.” 

Without proper training or knowledge, said Tilley, referring to someone as ‘addicted’ or ‘dependant’ without having a medical diagnosis reaffirms misunderstandings about addiction. 

As well, she said focusing on the systemic issues behind someone’s opioid use is key to ethical coverage: 

“The context that people are using drugs in and the behaviors that come out of that are just as important and in fact more important, and I think that’s what we need to focus on.”