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Chapter 4 - Experiences of Stigma and Criminal In/Justice among People Who Use Substances

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2022

Georg Schomerus
Affiliation:
Universität Leipzig
Patrick William Corrigan
Affiliation:
Illinois Institute of Technology
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Summary

Stigma negatively shapes the lives of people who use substances through criminalization processes and criminal justice involvement. This chapter draws from the authors’ lived experiences to explore the harms created by stigma at the intersection of substance use and criminal justice. Stigma produces a social context contributing to high rates of criminal justice involvement among people who use substances through inequitable social conditions, criminalization of substances, and under-resourcing of substance use services. Substance use stigma is reinforced by harmful police practices, painful imprisonment experiences, and insufficient support offered to formerly incarcerated people living in the community. Approaches for reducing substance use stigma involve reforming drug policy to decriminalize substances, improving access to substance use treatment and harm reduction services, and involving people with lived and living experiences of substance use and criminal justice involvement in policymaking and service delivery.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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