Several studies have found that substance use disorders are more highly stigmatized than other health conditions [16–20]. The relationship between stigma and substance use disorders can manifest differently from that of other stigmatized health conditions, thereby complicating efforts to build social acceptance of people with substance use disorders. Stigma is often used as a tool to discourage and marginalize unhealthy behaviors such as problematic substance use [21–23], which has a collateral consequence of marginalizing and devaluing social groups. Stigmatizing attitudes regarding certain behaviors (e.g. substance use during pregnancy) and groups (e.g. injection drug users) are widely accepted, culturally endorsed and enshrined in policy (e.g. criminal law). Although no empirical evidence exists, some have speculated that reducing the stigma of substance use problems may produce negative effects such as increasing the rates of substance use among younger adolescents [24] and decreasing motivation to seek help among people with substance use problems [25]. Such speculation reflects the broad social discourse surrounding how people with substance use disorders ought to be viewed and treated in our society.
