There’s a new social media trend of publicly shaming opioid users. In the past two weeks, at least two photos have been publicly shared on social media by police in Ohio and Massachusetts of parents passed out on opioids in front of their children. While opioid abuse is a real problem in the U.S., shaming people who use opioids hurts the millions of people who have been prescribed opioids to treat their chronic pain.
“Opioids are not like traditional meds such as an antibiotic or cough suppressant,” said Alan Brewington, who takes opioids for chronic pain caused by arthritis. “Every chronic pain patient has to consider the moral, ethical, side effect, short term benefit versus long term destruction to the body and cost each and every time we take a pill. Stigmatizing us for this only makes the decision harder and less likely the pill will work.”
Now, people who use opioids for chronic pain are sharing their experiences on social media using the hashtag #opioidawareness to try and combat the stigma opioid users face.
Over 100 million Americans live with chronic pain, many of whom use opioids as a way of managing their pain or minimizing flares. Of those who use opioids to treat chronic pain, many wish there was a better or more affordable alternative to opioids.