Stigma 'stops ex-addicts from rejoining society'

The Government must tackle the "extreme prejudice" against drug users if it is to succeed in getting addicts off benefits, back into work and playing their full role in society, the UK Drug Policy Commission report said.

The study comes as the Home Office plans to withdraw welfare benefits from addicts who refuse treatment.

Charlie Lloyd, a senior lecturer at York University and the report's author, said: "There is no getting away from the fact that our current society is none too keen on drug users, and even former users, but such attitudes betray a lack of understanding about the nature of addiction which is having many profound effects. Use of heroin and crack, in particular, can be seen to come with a "stigma life sentence" which is a crucial barrier to recovery and rejoining society."

He suggested learning lessons from the United States, where California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger holds a "recovery month" every September to educate the public about addiction.

Professor Colin Blakemore, of the drugs commission, added that the terms "junkie" and "addict" were "pejorative shorthand for perceived social decay, conveying a sense of anxiety out of proportion to reality".

Last week, a leading doctor Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, former president of the Royal College of Physicians, said the Government should consider decriminalising drug.