STIGMAS NOT NICE

AIDS Vancouver Island (AVI) is suffering a little heat from media
after jumping on board with a U.K. campaign that's doing it's
damndest to raise awareness around drug stigmas.

The campaign, which uses the slogan "Nice people take drugs," was
removed from buses in the U.K. but has taken off with success in
Victoria. This week, AVI even hung a banner from their office window.
"The media plays a huge role in how we perceived drug users, and even
the way this campaign has been covered so far has been from the
perspective that this is something really controversial," says Andrea
Langlois, AVI's manager of communications and community relations and
research. "What the statistics are showing us is that drug use is
much more common that we typically think."

AVI is using the campaign to join forces with Harm Reduction Victoria
(HRV) and other organizations around Victoria during Anti-Stigma
Week, which runs until Feb. 14.

According to Health Canada's 2009 Canadian Alcohol and Drug Using
Survey, 48.6 per cent of people living in B.C. report having used
illegal drugs in their lifetime. Of these, 47.5 per cent say they've
used cannabis, while 20.4 per cent have used cocaine/crack, speed,
ecstasy, hallucinogens, or heroin. "The real point of this campaign
is to get people realizing that drug use does not only happen on the
street level, and does not make users 'bad people,'" Langlois says.
"The more we get that discussion going, and the more we knock the
stigma out of it, we've found the more people will come forward to
get the help they need, not fearing judgement from others."

And speaking of breaking down stigmas, HRV and the Society of Living
Intravenous Drug Users (S.O.L.I.D.) are hosting Victoria's first
"Vigil and Procession for the Victims and Survivors of the War on
Drugs." The vigil will take place Friday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. in
Centennial Square. Candles will be provided.