By: Maya Barillas Mohan, Staff Writer
Established by the International Network of People Who Use Drugs, International Drug Users Remembrance Day is held annually on July 21, to “remember the people whose lives were unjustly cut short due to the criminalization and stigmatization of people who use drugs.” The day also reflects on the humanity of people who use substances. In 2021, the network made a Facebook post urging those with loved ones whose lives were harmed by substance use disorder to share a photo tribute. The hashtag is five years old now, and not many posts remain, but those that do taught me something valuable.
I noticed a theme of an unshakeable “everyday” feeling in each photograph. The pictures capture these loved ones in their most natural state; one line cook looks as though he were photographed in the middle of a sentence, a light smile directed at the person responsible for the image. Comments on his memorial post grieve competitive industries and trades as sites of intense stress, noting that in hospitality or nightlife, there is rampant exposure to substances.
Another entry is a black and white image of a law and international development student who passed away at the age of 24. The photo is bright and smooth, and the yellow text overlay “daughter, friend” is prominent. The overdose crisis impacts not just those with substance use disorder, but the ones around them too. Victims of this crisis cannot be distilled into numbers; they should be considered as people first. A variety of occupations and interests span the infographic to furnish the truth that addiction doesn’t look one way. Even though stigma is disassembling itself through advocacy groups and heightened visibility, it obviously still remains, as evidenced by the recent shut down on drug decriminalization in BC.
Current drug policies put the emphasis of punishment on people who use substances. Overdose prevention sites are closing, and recriminalization will only hurt those struggling even more. These issues are persistent. Arts and photography are useful supplements for activism against these policies because they humanize people. Vulnerable art and writing, such as survivors’ memoirs or newspaper articles serve the dual function of reflection and education. Without giving space to survivors, either of loved ones or of addiction itself, we lose access to an array of perspectives. Art gives proof of experience and detaches all of us from a view that those with substance use disorder are just numbers to be reduced, and their faces and lived experiences to be neglected.
This campaign remembers and memorializes people using photos of their lives, directing them away from the narrow view of stereotypes and stigmatization.
This makes me reflect on the verbs we use for photography, especially “captured,” or “taken.” For many, these candid images are the lone mementos of entire lives cut short. A photo takes a moment and saves it — but we also tend to describe someone’s life as taken by a particular drug. I think the word is used to change the longevity of a single instance. It seems to me that this campaign, even though it has aged half a decade, remembers and memorialize people using photos of their lives, directing them away from the narrow view of stereotypes and stigmatization. Such media campaigns are valuable because they show us how awareness and care are ongoing resources, and also build coalitions between those with substance use disorder and allies — I think similar campaigns de-stigmatizing substance use are long overdue, and we definitely need more of them.
