A new documentary looks at the degradation of deprived communities and what drug addicts have suffered because of stigma during the Celtic Tiger era. It’s about how many families buried so many of their children because of drug addiction, writes Ann Buckley.
In January 2016 I was approached by a documentary maker, Kim Bartley from Frontline Films, after I spoke from the audience of Claire Byrne Live on RTÉ One. Kim was interested in making a documentary with me. I was studying print journalism at Ballyfermot College at the time, and it sounded like a great opportunity.
I was nervous about sharing my own story though. As we began to map out how the documentary would look and feel, I knew it would mean revisiting a lot of old memories, a lot of painful memories. We decided I would go back to my old community, speak to people from my past, and try to build a picture of what I had gone through during my 17 long years of heroin and methadone addiction. I was excited about the project, but my heart was full of joy and sadness, all at the same time.
I remember the first few interviews we did for the documentary; I remember I slept a lot in the days after those interviews due to revisiting my past. But my motivation to do the documentary was strong. Having been through what I’d been through I felt I had a powerful message to deliver — by sharing my experience I wanted people to understand that the current perception of addiction in society is actually harming the person in addiction.
The stigma associated with addiction prevents people from reaching out for help. It criminalises and punishes very vulnerable, very sick drug addicts. The State is at last beginning to change its approach to addiction from a criminal one to a health-led approach and I want to highlight what an important shift this is.
Source: Ann Buckley. The Irish Examiner, 31/01/18
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