Medical professionals tell us that stigma prevents people from seeking help, from using drugs in the presence of others, from having naloxone kits on hand. At worst, they say the drug users' death is somehow deserved. At best, the negative comments say drug use is a choice. Every time CBC News covers the crisis, we receive harsh calls and emails. That implication of personal responsibility can exacerbate stigma, and the stigma is all too real, say those on the frontlines of B.C.'s fentanyl crisis. Meanwhile, the word "overdose," meaning "to administer medicine in too large a dose," implies that a drug user knows what the dose is, and chooses to take too much. "Poisoning" is a technically accurate diagnostic term for what's happening inside the body. Some medical professionals working in the field say that if we speak about the fentanyl crisis in a more clinical, straightforward fashion, we can see it for what it is: a public health issue that can be addressed through the medical system. The difference in language may seem slight, but it says a lot about how our society differentiates between alcohol users and drug users. When someone takes too much of a drug, we call it an overdose. When someone drinks too much, we call it alcohol poisoning.
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