ABSTRACT

Drug addiction is almost always linked with negative views among the society, depending on one’s comprehension of the depth of the problem. To date, there are limited studies done in Malaysia to evaluate public attitudes about drug addiction. It is worthwhile investigating public attitudes about drug addiction as every individual plays a part to help the battle against drugs, regardless of their social position in the society. Without collaboration from the society, the government's effort to restore Persons With Drug Addiction (PWDA) and to transform them into valuable citizens would not be accomplished because of the general public's biased state of mind that does not have the desire to acknowledge entirely, and accept the addicts. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the public views of drug addiction pertaining to four areas namely stigma, discrimination, treatment effectiveness and policy governing PWDA in Malaysia via a cross sectional study design. Results obtained from this study portrays that the public is convinced that PWDA are able to contribute to the society following recovery and the public is willing to cooperate for the wellbeing of PWDA especially in terms of supporting the advancement in policies governing PWDA. At the same time, the study also shows that public held stigma and discrimination against PWDA which can eventually deprive their basic rights for survival such as housing and employment. Hence, this study suggests that a shift is required in the attitude and mentality about how the society approaches drug addiction as it could encourage more addicts to seek treatment and rehabilitation, improving their quality of lives.

Keywords: drug addiction, stigma, discrimination, treatment effectiveness, policy