Problem Solution
American University of Beirut
The Stigma that Drug Addicts Have a Choice
Submitted by: Rita Nizar Al Kady
Submitted to: Dr. Zane Sinno
Date: 17 October 2017
English 203 Section 42
There are a few worse situations to be in than being addicted to drugs in Lebanon. Not only are there limitations on the drug addicts’ access to help, but also, is the stigma involved with the issue of addiction. This stigma is dictated by the Lebanese society and contends that drug addicts have a choice in their addiction: they can simply stop using the drug (Addiction Help Centre, 2017). This stigma has devastating repercussions on drug addicts and affects their likelihood of seeking treatment for the addiction, impeding their recovery in many cases. It considerably diminished the addicts’ quality of life in the Lebanese community leading to a DALY rate of 601.9 per 100,000 of the population for drug use disorders in Lebanon (Graphiq, 2017). The DALY is the Disability-Adjusted Life Year which measures the sum of the loss of healthy and normal years due to the burden and consequences associated with a certain disease (World Health Organisation, 2017). The shame and dishonour associated with being addicted to drugs in Lebanon are the major causative agents of this stigmatization.
Drug Addiction is a Legitimate Psychological Disease
It is quite rare that you would find people in today’s Lebanese society that would consider drug addiction to be what it truly is: a psychological disorder. In fact, Lebanese people generally do not consider drug addicts to be suffering from a disease at all (Addiction Help Centre, 2017). They contend that the use and abuse of drugs is for the reckless and irresponsible, and is dependent solely on the addict’s personal choice in the matter (Addiction Help Centre, 2017). Addiction, however, is no personal choice. We must first draw a distinction between drug users and drug addicts. Drug users are those who use drugs for recreational purposes without becoming dependent on the drugs (Weiss, 2014). Their use of the drug involves making a conscious decision driven by the desire for its effects. Drug addicts are those who are physiologically and psychologically dependent on the drug and who cannot make conscious decisions in the use of the drug (Weiss, 2014). In other words, they do not simply desire the drug; they are compulsed to use it. It is more of a necessary obligation, even if the addict wishes not to (Weiss, 2014).
The Biological Basis of Drug Addiction
Drug addiction is therefore classified as a psychological disorder by the American Psychiatric Association, as it involves biological factors that go beyond making the simple choice of whether or not to take the drug (Parekh, 2017). There are three biological factors that affect the likelihood of a person becoming a drug addict. The first factor is the genetic predisposition to suffer from drug addiction (United States Congress & Office of Technology Assessment, 2004). In other words, there are genes in our own biological genome that influence the probability of becoming addicted to drugs. The presence of these “addiction genes” places some people at a greater vulnerability of developing addiction than others (United States Congress & Office of Technology Assessment, 2004). These addiction genes are heritable, which explains the common phenomenon of drug addiction running in families and being at a higher coincidence between identical twins rather than fraternal twins (United States Congress & Office of Technology Assessment, 2004). Therefore, a person is more likely to suffer from addiction if a close relative is also an addict, which limits the rationale of a personal choice involved in drug addiction.
The second biological factor is the difference in brain physiology between drug addicts and non-addicted people. Abnormalities in the dopamine and serotonin systems, which are systems in the brain involved in both pleasure and compulsive behaviour, may cause the initial and continued use of a certain drug (United States Congress & Office of Technology Assessment, 2004). Both genetics and environmental factors may influence the development of such abnormalities; however, these abnormalities are distinct from the ones discussed in the third biological factor as they are not caused by the drugs themselves (United States Congress & Office of Technology Assessment, 2004).
The third biological factor involves the transitioning of drug users into drug addicts due to change in body and brain chemistry upon the usage of drugs. Drug users not dependent on their drugs may eventually develop addiction due to the permanent effects of some drugs on body physiology (King, 2014). For example, the usage of the drug methamphetamine, commonly known as crystal meth, permanently damages the dopamine receptors in the brain (King, 2014). The result is that the brain can no longer produce the sensation of pleasure as it used to before using the drug, effectively leading to the persistent abuse of the drug (King, 2014). Although some people in the Lebanese society may argue that the initial use of the drug involved a conscious decision, the persistence of its use when the addiction has already developed is not a behaviour the drug addict can control. A situation parallel to this is the occurrence of lung cancer among smokers: smoking initially involved making a conscious decision, but the development of lung cancer was obviously not a conscious choice. Drug addiction is as much of a disease as lung cancer, and drug addicts are as deserving of treatment as are lung cancer patients. You certainly wouldn’t shame a lung cancer patient for having the disease, so why is this shame imposed on a drug addict?
Drug Addiction Can Be Correlated With Other Mental Disorders
In addition to the belief that drug addiction is a personal choice, there are other factors that contribute to the Lebanese community’s reluctance in considering drug addiction as a psychological disease. Drug addiction is often correlated with other mental disorders due to their parallel causative agents (NIDA, 2010). Both natural and environmental factors such as genetic predispositions, brain defects, and traumatic experiences may trigger the co-occurrence of addiction and alternative psychological illnesses (NIDA, 2010). The presence of the alternative psychological disorder with drug addiction enables the Lebanese society to redirect their attention on the former as a legitimate disease and classify the latter as a side effect of that disease. This is medically incorrect. A drug addict is not simply a victim of a mental disorder using drugs to alleviate the symptoms of his or her illness. In reality, both mental illnesses and drug addiction are classified as separate psychological disorders afflicting the victim simultaneously (Patterson, 2016). Thus, these victims should be dually diagnosed with multiple mental illnesses by the concerned psychiatrist rather than their drug addiction being limited to a means of coping with the alternative mental illness (Patterson, 2016).
The Vicious Cycle of Drug Addiction
The reluctance of considering drug addiction as a valid disease by the Lebanese community has an important corollary: drug addicts are considered as heedless individuals desiring impulsive enjoyment rather than actually suffering from anything. The problem arises due to the fact that most drugs ingested do indeed eliminate the perception of pain and generate the feelings of pleasure, but this does not negate the presence of a disease nor the validity of the suffering it induces. The suffering is exhibited when the continuous use of the drugs begins to alter the chemical composition of the drug addict’s brain, causing the addict to become both physically and psychologically dependent on the drug (King, 2014). This leads to excruciating withdrawal symptoms in the case of cessation or insufficient use of the drugs (King, 2014). In addition, tolerance for the drug starts to buildup in the addict’s body which means that the addict will be compelled to ingest a greater quantity of the drug to achieve the same effect and to avoid these withdrawal symptoms (King, 2014). Thus, both the withdrawal symptoms and the presence of tolerance drive the drug addicts to continue and increase their dosage of the drug (King, 2014). When the addicts reach this stage of their addiction, their urge to use the drug is no longer to escape worldly pain and feel pleasure; rather, they begin abusing it to escape the suffering it causes. This paradoxical situation leads to a never-ending cycle of abuse. Eventually, the dependency on the drug begins to afflict the addict with various physiological and mental illnesses. The medical consequences that accompany addiction include the development of cardiovascular disease, cancer, increased incidence of strokes, the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, and the triggering of various other mental disorders (NIDA, 2014). The suffering is further amplified when the dependency on the drug begins to affect the addict’s mental well-being, social and personal relationships, and academic or job performance (King, 2014). As a result, the addict may once again turn to ingesting more drugs to diminish the effects of this suffering, further impeding his or her recovery from the addiction. To put it simpler, the drugs are initially used for pleasure, and they eventually become the anaesthesia to the addiction itself.
The Stigmatization of Drug Addiction
Even in the case of considering addiction as a mental illness, it is still viewed more negatively than other mental illnesses in the Lebanese community. Addiction is more likely to be viewed as a personal downfall caused by a deficiency in social and religious morals compared to other psychological illnesses (Desmon & Morrow, 2014). Drug addicts are considered to be individuals with weak willpower, unable to overcome their dependency on a physical substance (Desmon & Morrow, 2014). For the sake of comprehending the situation, I will draw parallels between drug addiction and other psychological disorders. You cannot simply tell a person suffering from depression to be happy, or a person suffering from schizophrenia not to believe in their delusions. You wouldn’t blame their disease on their sense of self-control. Similarly, you shouldn’t blame drug addicts for their continuous use of their drugs: they cannot simply “just stop”. However, that is precisely what is expected of them in our Lebanese community, and whichever addict fails to “just stop” is judged as lacking in self-control and moral values rather than requiring serious medical attention.
The Social Effects of this Stigma
The shaming by the Lebanese society itself contributes to the suffering of these addicts. Addicts are very likely to suffer socially due to the dishonor associated with being addicted to drugs (Skoun, 2015). Schools are more likely to punish or suspend their addicted students rather than offer them rehabilitation (Skoun, 2015). Workplaces are less likely to offer jobs to drug addicts, even after their potential recovery (Skoun, 2015). Personal relationships are also threatened by this mentality. This applies to both familial and communal relationships. Familial relations are severed when the addiction is viewed as a failure in one’s morals, or even worse, a rebellion against one’s parents (Desmon & Morrow, 2014). In our Lebanese community, one’s sense of dignity and honor in society is dependent and interrelated with those of his or her family. Consequently, the addict is considered to have brought shame unto one’s family as the parents of the drug addict are viewed as having failed in upbringing of their child. As for communal relations, people in the Lebanese community would be less willing to associate with a drug addict in any way lest they project this societal shame upon themselves (Skoun, 2015). In other words, people forming relations with drug addicts are suspected to be addicts themselves, thus falling into society’s trap of permanent shame. Thus, the shame associated with being addicted is not limited to the drug addicts themselves: it affects both the addicts and their social ties, whether familial or communal.
The stereotype that addicts are spreading their addiction within their community is widespread in the Lebanese society. It is a consequence of the misconception that addicted individuals are likely to be dealing with the drugs they use. It is important to distinguish between drug dealers and drug addicts. Victims of drug addiction are not necessarily distributing the drugs they use to other members of the community. While it is true that people in close contact with drug addicts are more exposed to the world of drugs, vulnerability to drug addiction is dependent on various other factors rather than mere exposure (Shrand, 2015). Drug addicts are not spreading their addiction in the same way depressed people are not spread their depression. Psychological disorders may involve some triggers, but they are not contagious. This boils down to the fundamental concept of classifying drug addiction as a psychological disorder.
The Effect of this Stigma on the Lebanese Judicial Systems
The extent to which drug addicts are shamed by the Lebanese society goes beyond the social context of the matter. It even extends to the judicial systems in Lebanon. The usage of drugs is a criminal act under the Lebanese law (American University of Beirut, 2017). Instead of being viewed as a sufferer of a mental disease, a drug addict is criminalized and automatically detained upon being arrested by the Lebanese authorities (Skoun, 2015). This prosecution may even occur after a drug addict is admitted for treatment at a certain hospital. Generally, hospitals in Lebanon tend to report incidences of drug use to the local authorities (Majed, 2014). This phenomenon greatly decreases the likelihood of drug addicts seeking any form of legitimate medical treatment upon their abuse of the drugs, thus further inhibiting the process of rehabilitation (Skoun, 2015). The criminalization of a disease exemplifies the detrimental effects of this stigma of shame in the Lebanese society. Addicts submitting to something beyond their control should not in any way land them in prison with murderers and rapists.
Members of society perpetuating this mentality of shame may argue that drug addicts should go through the legal processes of prosecution and imprisonment if they genuinely desired treatment. Their argument is that if drug addicts did indeed value rehabilitation, serving prison time is “worth it”. The issue, however, is not that simple. First, they are assuming that drug addicts are capable of making conscious decisions regarding their addiction. This isn’t quite the case with mentally-ill people, as their illness affects their capabilities of making rational decisions. Second, the legal processes of prosecution in Lebanon are flawed themselves. Not only is the criminalization of drug addiction itself an obvious error, but also, Lebanese authorities are in most cases incapable of imposing the laws that they themselves have set (Nammour, 2015). In other words, the rights of drug addicts are greatly violated during the process of their prosecution (Nammour, 2015). The end goal of possible recovery does not justify the means undertaken to achieve it.
Legal Inconsistencies in the Judicial System
Legally, the process of prosecution of drug addicts in Lebanon is as follows: upon being arrested, the drug addict should be detained in prison for a maximum of ninety-six hours (Nammour 2015). The drug addict is then presented before the court and offered two choices. The addict may either choose to undergo treatment for the addiction or to concede to the punishment issued by court (Nammour 2015). The punishment usually involves serving a certain prison sentence and/or the payment of a fine (Nammour 2015).
This process is usually not accurately applied in the Lebanese legal systems. In many cases, the detention time served by the drug addicts extends beyond the maximum number of hours allowed by law (Nammour, 2015). In fact, a recent study of drug-related prosecutions in Lebanon by the Skoun Lebanese Addiction Centre showed that the average detention time served by the addicts in Lebanese prisons is fifty days (Nammour, 2015). Detention time, which is meant to be the short period in which the liberty of the prosecuted individual is restricted until the court hearings, essentially becomes parallel to the serving sentence issued later in the hearings. Journalist Karim Nammour for the newsletter platform The Legal Agenda effectively explained the effects of this violation on the drug addicts: “What could prompt addicts to undergo treatment when they have been jailed for a number of days, usually in excess of the period allowed by law, and in conditions that totally contradict human dignity? Why would addicts choose treatment to avoid punishment, when in practice they usually serve their sentences before appearing in court? In such cases, they are punished regardless of their readiness to withdraw from substance use, or undergo treatment for their addiction” (Nammour, 2015, para 6). The extension of detention time usually occurs during the periods of judicial congestion and is justified by the authorities as necessary to “keep the drug addicts off the streets” during the delay (Nammour, 2015). If the laws pertaining to their prosecution are correctly applied by the authorities in these cases of delay, the drug addicts could be referred to confined treatment until the time of their hearings, and not imprisoned in the inhumane conditions typical of Lebanese prisons (Nammour, 2015). This boils down to the mentality of viewing drug addicts as shameful to society and harmful to the members of the community (Nammour, 2015). This mindset of shame is leading to the violation of the Lebanese legal agenda itself, and it isn’t as if the agenda is providing drug addicts with their basic human rights in the first place.
The Limitations on the Option of Treatment
The process, however, doesn’t end here. Even after being compelled to suffer through this violation of their human dignity during the detention time, drug addicts may not even consider the option of treatment offered later in the court hearings at all (Nammour, 2015). This is due to the fact that the option of rehabilitation is itself flawed. The treatment offered in the judicial system usually involves great financial costs that the addict is unable to cover (Nammour, 2015). This is especially the case in Lebanon, where most drug addicts come from impoverished backgrounds (Badran, 2015). Also, choosing the option of treatment usually involves additional court hearings, which would possibly mean additional detention time for the drug addicts (Nammour, 2015). The obstacles involved with the option of treatment leads to many drug addicts choosing to concede to the punishments set by court, as they either are unable to afford treatment or rightfully unwilling to remain in detainment (Nammour, 2015). It is valuable to know that the options of punishment offered by the court are liable to be avoided in the corrupt Lebanese judicial systems by the operation of “wasta”, or a bribe offered to those in charge in exchange for the drug addict’s freedom. Thus, in the drug addict’s perspective, punishment may occur in both the option of treatment and the option of legal punishment, with the former involving more costs and difficulties than the latter, and with the latter having a possibility of being avoided altogether. Thus, treatment is not presented as the desirable option in the Lebanese judicial system, which is quite paradoxical in their case since they limit the disease of addiction to a chase for what is desired.
There are other reasons why drug addicts would not consider rehabilitation in Lebanon in general. In addition to the high costs involved, the possibility of being reported by the hospital to the authorities and the addicts’ definite prosecution if that happens prevents them from seeking help (Majed, 2014). The permanent criminal record that follows the process of prosecution is enough incentive by itself to prevent drug addicts from even considering the option of rehabilitation (Skoun, 2015). Again, the mentality of shame forms the basis of this occurrence. Being listed as a former drug addict is the gateway to being alienated in multiple social contexts of the community (Skoun, 2015). The key word here is former. Why would being a former drug addict influence the now clean individual in any way? Societal shame is the answer to this question. The Lebanese society usually does not consider the prospect of permanent recovery from drug addiction (Skoun, 2015). More than anything, it stresses the definability of relapse. The Lebanese society has no faith that drug addicts have fully recovered from their addiction, simply because it pertains that drug addicts will always tend to relapse into their former sources of pleasure if triggered at some point in the future. The society perceives that there is no disease involved in the case of drug addiction thus full remission is not possible.
Thus, the Lebanese society issues the permanent label of a drug addict to the recovered individual. The problem isn’t with being labelled with a disease: there isn’t anything shameful in being afflicted with a mental illness. The problem arises because the Lebanese society does indeed view it as shameful, and therefore, the prospects of the drug addicts resuming their lives before their addiction are close to zero (Majed, 2014). Members of society, and even those of addicts’ own family, are still likely to exhibit avoidance of these individuals (Skoun, 2015). Once you have committed what is considered shameful in the Lebanese community, it becomes a permanent label that affects the normal continuation of your life. Society in no way rewards your progress if you happen to recover from it. What the Lebanese society doesn’t consider is the effects this has on the drug addict, and the increased possibility of their relapse into the drug addiction once afflicted with this hopelessness of returning to their pre-diseased selves. Sandy Mteirek, the project coordinator at the Skoun Lebanese Addictions Center, provides an explicit illustration of these drawbacks in the Lebanese society. “One female patient spent a long time in rehab and made good progress and strenuous efforts to change,” said Mteirek. “However, she is unable to move on with her life, find a job, or even buy a car because of this mention on her police record, which takes three years to remove. This could cause her to relapse or revert to using drugs all over again” (cited in Majed, 2014, para 18).
Measures Taken to Destigmatize Drug Addicts
The diverse difficulties drug addicts encounter to be validated as victims of a psychological illness boil down to the deep-rooted mentality of shame within the Lebanese community. The stereotype that addiction is a personal choice and its detrimental consequences on the drug addicts stem from this mentality, so addressing these stereotypes entails confronting the root of the problem. Destigmatizing drug addiction as a personal choice can be achieved in various ways depending on the context this stigma is affecting.
Raising Awareness of Drug Addiction as a Psychological Illness
The first approach to destigmatize drug addiction in the Lebanese society involves targeting the main social-constructed fallacy of drug addiction as a personal choice. This would entail spreading awareness of the fact that drug addiction is a legitimate psychological disease. The mediums that can be utilized to perpetuate this factual information are various and depend on the age of the individuals targeted within the Lebanese community. Groups of variable ages in Lebanon can be targeted differently depending on the media platform used most frequently.
Awareness Targeting the Younger Generation
Targeting the younger generation of Lebanon is especially relevant within the context of this problem since young adolescents are more likely to question stereotypical standpoints compared to the older generation as they are yet to have formed fixated beliefs about worldly concepts (Resnick, 2016). The globalisation of different countries and cultures around the world and the greater accessibility to higher education in our present day facilitated the exposure of members of the younger generation to a multitude of mindsets, values, and attitudes (Tilley, 2015). This diverse exposure contributes to the development of a liberal mindset able to rationally appraise conceptions rather than blindly assimilate the stereotypes imposed by the Lebanese society (Tilley, 2015). This receptive mindset is a necessary prerequisite to allow the de-stigmatization of drug addiction to progress within the members of the younger generation in Lebanon.
Targeting young adolescents is especially crucial since the majority of drug addicts in Lebanon constitute the younger generation. Some of the targeted adolescents may be directly involved with the issue of drug addiction by either being addicts themselves or being in close contact with victims of the disease. As mentioned previously, drug addicts themselves may be unaware of the fact that they are suffering from a legitimate psychological illness. Learning that their addiction extends beyond their personal choice to take the drug may incite them to seek rehabilitation for the disease instead of attributing the addiction to their lack of self-control in ingesting the drug and consequently plunging into the cycle of self-loath and self-blame.
Young adolescents in close contact with drug addicts may also pressurize their addicted friends into seeking help by educating them about the nature of their addiction once they themselves are made aware of it. Upon learning about the true nature of drug addiction as a non-contagious disease, these adolescents would also be less likely to abandon their addicted friends from the false fear of acquiring the addiction. Drug addicts are more willing to come to terms with their addiction and undergo rehabilitation for it if they are peer pressured to do so by close friends (Young, 2014). These interventions are crucial since validating the presence of a psychological illness in the victim and the instilling the desire for recovery are preconditional for complete recovery from a mental health issue (Young, 2014). The transition for addicted young adults to be validated in society begins within their social circle of friends; therefore, it is paramount that these friends are not swayed by this widespread stigma of drug addiction within the Lebanese community.
The main medium of communication that can be utilised to amplify the awareness of drug addiction as a legitimate illness among the young generation in the Lebanese society is social media. Social media plays a substantial role in raising various issues to the attention of the public community. This is especially feasible within the context of this problem since young adolescents in our present day are becoming increasingly socially responsible and socially involved in the issues concerning problematic stereotypes and human rights (Khaleej Times Staff Reporter, 2013). Young adolescents who may not be involved in the realm of drug addiction may contribute to the de-stigmatization of drug addicts by employing the diverse platforms of social media to raise awareness of the true nature of the addiction.
It is relevant to note that the issue of mental illness is itself stigmatized within the Lebanese community, regardless of whether the mental illness in question is drug addiction (Lee, 2011). Victims of psychological diseases may be discriminated against or even invalidated as sufferers from a legitimate disorder (Lee, 2011). Social media plays a substantial role in validating the victims of psychological diseases through raising awareness of their medical justification and forming online support groups for affected individuals. These factors are contributing to the de-stigmatization of mental health issues within the Lebanese communities and may be similarly employed for the disease of drug addiction. Online blogs and support groups pertaining to validating drug addicts in Lebanon and inciting them to seek treatment may be set up by the involved younger generation.
Awareness Targeting the Older Generation
The genuine challenge to raise awareness for the validity of drug addiction as a legitimate psychological disorder lies in targeting the older generation of Lebanon. Adults generally develop a fixed mindset for their set of beliefs over the course of their lives and are less likely to abandon the stereotypes they have acquired compared to the younger generation (Resnick, 2016). Both explicit and implicit methods of raising awareness should therefore be employed to target the older generation. In addition to utilising the different platforms of social media for the de-stigmatization of drug addiction, television platforms viewed by the members of the older generation in Lebanon could also be employed for the direct and indirect means of raising awareness of the issue.
Explicit methods to publicize the validity of drug addiction as a legitimate psychological disorder would involve airing television advertisements, documentaries, and shows that pertain to de-stigmatization of the disease. Lebanese television platforms are increasingly becoming more involved with publicizing and de-stigmatizing issues concerning the basic rights of Lebanese citizens and the general health of the public. The social show Ahmar Bel Khat Al Areed presented by the renowned journalist Malek Maktabi on the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation television platform is an illustrative example of a talk show that targets the general stigmatized issues within the Lebanese community (Wikipedia, 2017). Maktabi hosts individuals struggling with diverse issues from diverse backgrounds and raises these problems to the attention of the general Lebanese public (Wikipedia, 2017). Maktabi can be contacted through twitter to publicize the issue of stigmatization of drug addicts and challenge the stereotypes of addiction being a conscious choice asserted by the Lebanese community (Maktabi, 2017).
Implicit methods to promulgate the de-stigmatization of drug addicts should be utilised to target the members of the older generation who are less willing to renounce their biases. Recreational television such as movies and television series may indirectly raise awareness of the issue of stigmatization of drug addicts within the Lebanese community by embedding the concept within the context of the script. The Arabic television series Taht Al Saytara challenges the stereotypes of drug addiction as a personal choice by presenting it as a chronic disease (Khaled, 2015). This television series is remarkable in the fact that it does not portray the drug addict in the show as blameworthy for her addiction but rather presents the character as a victim suffering from an illness and seeking to recover from it (Khaled, 2015). The show also emphasizes the importance of friendships and support groups in validating drug addicts and encouraging them to seek rehabilitation (Khaled, 2015). Social media may be utilised to advertise shows such as Taht Al Saytara to indirectly stimulate those with a fixed mindset in the Lebanese community to rectify their stereotypes of drug addicts.
Classical conditioning within the context of television broadcasts is another indirect procedure that can be utilised to target the older generation of Lebanon for the purpose of destigmatizing drug addiction. Classical conditioning is defined as the repeated pairing of a stimulus that produces a natural response with a neutral stimulus to establish a future connection between the two events in the brain of the individual perceiving the two stimuli (King, 2014). After these pairings, the individual should elicit the same response to the neutral stimulus (King, 2014). Drug addiction is the neutral stimulus in this case. It can be repeatedly paired with stimuli pertaining to physical and mental diseases such as hospitals, clinics, and rehabilitation centers that elicit the natural responses of conscious thought about the legitimacy of the diseases, empathy with sufferers of diseases, or any other response that affirm the presence of an illness. This pairing would construct a subconscious connection between the two concepts of addiction and disease. In future circumstances, presentation of the stimulus of drug addiction to the individual would automatically generate the same response in the individual as the one generated if stimuli pertaining to other diseases were presented. Experiencing this response would affirm the de-stigmatization of drug addiction as a psychological disorder. These pairings could be incorporated in a variety of television broadcasts targeting a wide range of preferences and age groups. This too would entail raising the issue to the various Lebanese television platforms who have shown to be increasingly concerned with this phenomenon with the airing of shows such as Ahmar Bel Khat Al Areed.
Protection of Drug Addicts From Legal Misconduct
Criminalizing a behaviour essentially asserts that a conscious decision was involved in performing the behaviour which perpetuates the stigma that drug addiction is a personal choice. Drug addiction will continue to be stigmatized in the Lebanese society as long as the criminalization of drug addicts in the Lebanese judicial systems is in effect. Changing the legislative laws of the Lebanese judicial system is an elusive goal, but several measures may be implemented to increase the prospects of recovery from the addiction while still complying with the laws of the Lebanese judicial system. As discussed previously, if the law for the criminalization of drug addicts is properly applied, it may lead to the rehabilitation and recovery of the addicted individual. However, it is abused by the Lebanese authorities in such a way that it is either incorrectly implemented or implemented in inapt circumstances.
The Skoun Lebanese Addiction Centre is the prime centre for the treatment and protection of addicted individuals within the Lebanese community and has conducted various campaigns to influence and reiterate the laws pertaining to the protection of drug addicts from both stigmatisation and legal misconduct within the Lebanese community (Skoun, 2015).
The Skoun organisation seeks to safeguard the rights of drug addicts in Lebanon by speaking out against the injustices and abuse of power against drug addicts conducted by the Lebanese authorities (Skoun, 2015).
Know Your Rights campaign by Skoun
One of the ways Skoun has sought to protect addicted individuals from legal misconduct is by educating them about their rights in the case of their prosecution. The Know Your Rights campaign launched by Skoun in 2016 aims to both educate drug addicts about their rights that are typically violated during the process of prosecution and bring these malpractices by the Lebanese authorities to the attention of the public community (Tharoor, 2016). Video 1 produced by the organisation captures the essence of the Know Your Rights campaign. The video provides a gist of the legal rights of the drug addicts that must be and yet are not maintained both upon their arrest and during their detainment (Tharoor, 2016). The diversity in the gender, age, and characteristics of the speakers in Video 1 reiterates the fact that anyone can be susceptible to develop drug addiction given the underlying biological predispositions and rejects the stereotypical prototype of a drug addict as a weak-willed failure.
Reaching Out to Hospitals to Refrain From reporting the Drug Addicts
Other measures can be conducted to decrease the frequency of criminal prosecution of drug addicts. These measures entail seeking to effectuate the law that requests hospitals to refrain from reporting drug addicts in the case of their admittance and educating drug addicts about their rights in the case of their arrest. Destigmatization of drug addicts in this context would entail raising these endeavours to the attention of the general Lebanese public once executed to reiterate that drug addicts deserve treatment and have legal rights even if laws for their prosecution exists in the Lebanese legislation.
On March 22, 2016, the Ministry of Public Health in Lebanon passed a law urging hospitals to refrain from reporting drug addicts to the legal authorities if the hospital is sought in the case of an overdose or complication due to the use of the drug (Najib, 2016). The law was issued due to the persistent pressures by the Skoun organisation to advocate the treatment rather than the punishment of addicted individ uals in Lebanon (Raidy, 2016).
The official transcript of the passed law is Figure 1. This law aims to safeguard the health of the addicted individuals and encourage them to seek treatment without fearing the horrors of detainment in the Lebanese prisons (Najib, 2016). Criminal prosecutions for drug addiction would consequently decrease while simultaneously improving the prospects of recovery if the addicted individual is referred by the hospital to a rehabilitation centre rather than a prison cell.
The Arabic words “ اعتبار المدمن مريض وضحية وليس مجرما” in Figure 1 directly translate into “considering the drug addict as a patient and victim rather than a criminal.” Figure 1 also stresses that addicted individuals should be treated as all other hospital patients, their rights should be maintained, and that no discrimination should be conducted against them during their stay at the hospital (Najib, 2016) . This law offers a breakthrough in the de-stigmatization of drug addiction by emphasizing it as a disease rather than a conscious behaviour necessitating punishment.
Skoun oversees which Lebanese hospitals are complying with the article and raises this information to attention of the Lebanese public (Raidy, 2016). This aims to both inform drug addicts of the law-abiding hospitals and encourage other hospitals to observe the law by reiterating the ludicrousness of criminalizing drug addiction. Amplification of the information provided by Skoun through the use of social media is a potent measure to de-stigmatize drug addiction as a criminal behaviour within the Lebanese community.
Raising awareness of these legal misconducts provokes the questioning of the criminalization of drug addiction among the Lebanese public if it entails the degradation of the addicted individual and the perversion of the law. This diminishes the authenticity of considering drug addiction as a valid criminal act which consequently advances the de-stigmatization of the addiction among members of the Lebanese community.
Conclusion
Being a victim of a mental illness should not in any way encompass you in a life of shame, stigmatisation, and violence. It should not condemn you to the level of a moral failure or land you in a jail with actual ones. It should not lock you away from society when you are simultaneously struggling to escape the imprisonment of your own mind. Drug addiction is no different from any other mental disease. These victims deserve to be welcomed into society as a person struggling with a disability who should have access to genuine help. It is preposterous that this basic tenet of humanity of considering drug addicts as real people still has to be reiterated against those who are blinded by the discrimination and violence perpetuated by this stigma in the Lebanese community. Drug addicts are individuals who have hopes, dreams, and motivations just like the rest of the community. They are capable of loving and being loved. Their disorder does not color who they are as individuals nor does it make them weak-willed against the drugs they use. Addiction is a challenge they struggle with, and their recovery is an achievement to be celebrated. Their strength is reflected in confronting the disease and carrying on despite the stigma that accompanies them throughout their lives in this country. Increasing the recognition of this stigma among members of the Lebanese community and seeking to protect addicted individuals from its consequences allows these victims a chance to have the dignified life they deserve.
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