Drugs and the Mass Media

Abstract

Mass media have been described as all- pervasive cultural institutions which both reflect and project society's values. They are shown to have played a role throughout history, whenever new developments have threatened established values, and often are singled out as important facilitators and accelerators of social change. As such, it is not surprising that various charges have been leveled against the mass media for their purported role in the recent and significant escalation of psychoactive drug use and abuse. Some critics have attempted to relate the act of viewing or experiencing the mass media to problems of drug use; others have focused their charges on, and label as villains, the contents of the media, as in advertising, television entertainment and popular song lyrics. The intent of this paper is to examine some of these accusations and to explore the issues and the evidence in the current con troversy over the role of mass media in the use and abuse of psychoactive drugs.