The coordinator for a drug poisoning response program is stressing the importance of addressing the stigma surrounding addictions.

Saint John Ambulance offers an Opioid Poisoning Response Training Program, both virtually and in-person. It’s a free course and participants receive a free nasal naloxone kit once they complete.

Heather McCarthy, training coordinator for the program, says the program focuses not only on the emergency treatment, but also the perception and language around drug poisonings.

She says changing the language is one of the first steps to addressing stigma.

McCarthy says they look at using person-first language, which means not boiling a person down to being defined by their addiction with phrases like “they are an addict”. She says the person is so much more than their addiction, and will continue to be once they overcome it.