The post How To Challenge The Stigma Against Cannabis Consumption appeared first on High Times.
Despite some of Jeff Sessions’ best efforts, cannabis is undeniably becoming a large part of mainstream culture, and its only a finite amount of time before its wholehearted acceptance. However, due to its Schedule I status under the federal government and the correlating connotations rooted in the war on drugs, there still remains a sizable amount of stigma around the plant. While we’ve clearly come along way since the ‘Reefer Madness’ days, we still have a lot of work to do. Above all else, challenging the stigma against cannabis consumption remains step one in bringing the plant to full normalcy.
Fighting The Stigma Against Cannabis Consumption
According to one report by The Global Commission on Drug Policy, one of the biggest ways to reduce the stigma around pot, and all drugs for that matter, is to curb the use of insensitive language. Words like “junkie” may be causing harm beyond simply hurt feelings.
The U.K. report, spearheaded by former Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Nick Cregg, called for the abolishment of such language. The stigma that pot-users are “lazy” or “unintelligent” has demonized the drug further.
“Public opinion and media portrayals…perpetuate the stigma associated with…drug use…terms such as “junkie,”…and “crackhead” are alienating, and designate people who use drugs as…morally flawed and inferior,” the report said. The research also pointed to the criminalization of drugs as another catalyst of the negative stigma attached.
“Such stigma and discrimination, combined with the criminalization of drug use, are directly related to the violation of the human rights of people who use drugs,” the study concluded. “Therefore, in order to change…how people who