Today’s national data release on opioid- and stimulant- related harms paints a tragic and serious picture of how the overdose crisis, and the increasingly toxic illegal drug supply, continues to devastate families and communities across the country.
It has now reached a point in Canada where it is clear that almost everyone knows someone who has been impacted by this crisis.
Stigma continues to impact those struggling with addiction, as they face discrimination and barriers to getting help around drug use. Stigma discourages people from seeking health and social services, which adversely affects their health and quality of life.
To fight this stigma, the government has launched a new campaign aimed at men working in trades to reduce the stigma of asking for help. Men experience the highest rates of opioid overdoses in Canada and trades workers are more impacted by substance use and addiction than other fields of work.
Trades work is physically demanding and stressful and injury in pain are common. Workers often use alcohol or other substances to cope with pain and pain relief is one way workers get introduced to opioids.
Compounding the problem, men often believe that they cannot talk about their substance use or mental health problems. This makes them less likely to seek help when they need it.
The “Ease the Burden Campaign” provides free substance use resources and supports and shares the message that while asking for help takes strength, it can make a world of difference for people who use drugs and for their loved ones.
If you or someone you know needs help, there are resources available:
To address this public health crisis, we need to work together to save lives and spare families from the heartbreak of losing a loved one to overdose.
Image: Government of Canada