Media Representation and the War on Drugs

Our project is to show the media and government sponsored representation of drugs, the effects of this representation, as well as the effects of the “war” on drugs on various groups and people in society.  We suggest that the reasons behind criminalizing drugs like marijuana are more complex than meets the eye, delving into issues of race, sex and class. Many media representations of drugs and drug users are problematic in building myths around what these drugs do and who uses them, in both demonizing and glamorizing them.

[micahlevimelissa]

SWAT Team Kills 80 Year Old Retired Engineer in Bed During Raid For Non-Existent Drugs

In the early morning hours of June 27, 2013, a team of Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies pulled up to the home of Eugene Mallory, an 80-year-old retired engineer living in the rural outskirts of Los Angeles county with his wife Tonya Pate and stepson Adrian Lamos. The deputies crashed through the front gate…

Yet another shining example of the effects of the war on drugs

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Two And A Half Man Ashton Kutcher baked

Two And A Half Man Ashton Kutcher baked

Today marijuana is is finally becoming socially acceptable within our culture. This can be observed through this popular sitcom's representation of the consumption of marijuana laced brownies.

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NYPD Have Wrongly Raided The Same Dead Man’s Apartment 12 Times

RT.comMay 7, 2014  The New York Police Department keeps raiding a man’s apartment, thinking they have him dead-to-rights with an arrest warrant. Except the man has been dead since 2006. Now his widow is suing the NYPD to get them to stop. Karen Fennell says NYPD officers have raided her Brooklyn apartment at least a…

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2992333/

Abstract:

Oppression against Black women continues to be a significant problem in the United States. The purpose of this study is to use grounded theory to identify multiple dimensions of oppression experienced by impoverished Black women who use drugs by examining several settings in which participants experience oppression. Three case studies of drug using, impoverished Black women were randomly selected from two large scale consecutive ethnographic studies conducted in New York City from 1998 to 2005. Analysis revealed five dimensions of oppression occurring within eight distinct settings. While dimensions constitute different manifestations of oppression, settings represented areas within participants’ lives or institutions with which participants interact. Dimensions of oppression included classism, sexism, familism, racism, and drugism. Settings included the school system, correction system, welfare system, housing and neighborhood, relationship with men, family, experiences with drug use, and employment. Findings have important implications for social justice, welfare, drug, and justice system policy.

[warondrugsdeception-blog]

T-shirts, Posters, Stickers & More! http://www.zazzle.com/a_painful_truth/gifts?cg=196636175808306390&rf=238517002164042341

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In 1971, President Nixon officially declared a "war on drugs" creating the DEA and increasing penalties on marijuana.

[warondrugsdeception-blog]

T-shirts, Posters, Stickers & More! http://www.zazzle.com/a_painful_truth/gifts?cg=196636175808306390&rf=238517002164042341

[warondrugsdeception-blog]

T-shirts, Posters, Stickers & More! http://www.zazzle.com/a_painful_truth/gifts?cg=196863666672715465&rf=238517002164042341

[micahlevimelissa]

Offense Distribution of Inmates in State Prisons in the US 2011, by Race/Ethnicity and Gender

"The distribution of offense categories was more evenly divided among female inmates than male inmates, with 37% of females imprisoned for violent offenses, 28% for property offenses, and 25% for drug crimes. Among male inmates, 54% were incarcerated for violent crimes, 18% for property offenses, and 16% for drug offenses.

"The percentage of Hispanic inmates sentenced for violent offenses (58%) exceeded that of non-Hispanic black (56%) and non-Hispanic white (49%) inmates (table 10).2 The number of black inmates imprisoned for violent crimes (284,631) surpassed that of white (228,782) or Hispanic (162,489) inmates. Among black inmates sentenced for violent crimes, the leading cause of incarceration was robbery (19% of the total black prison population), followed by murder and nonnegligent manslaughter (13%). Black and Hispanic inmates were incarcerated at similar percentages for violent offenses, with 13% of the Hispanic prison population held for murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, 13% for robbery, and 14% for aggravated or simple assault. Among white inmates convicted of violent crimes, the leading cause for incarceration was rape or sexual assault (17% or 79,282 prisoners). When combined with rape or sexual assault convictions, the overall number of white inmates imprisoned for rape or sexual assault exceeded the number of black and Hispanic inmates sentenced for rape or sexual assault combined (75,838). The number of white inmates sentenced for property crime (108,560) was larger than the number of black (78,197) and Hispanic (38,264) inmates sentenced for property crime, while more black inmates were sentenced for drug offenses than inmates of other races or Hispanic origin."

Source: Carson, E. Ann, and Golinelli, Daniela, "Prisoners in 2012 - Advance Counts" (Washington, DC: US Dept. of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, July 2013), NCJ242467, pp. 10-11.

http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p12ac.pdf

- See more at: http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Race_and_Prison#sthash.8eCqLosQ.dpuf

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The Drug War & Mass Incarceration by The Numbers

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"NASCAR fans attending the 2013 Brickyard 400 races are being greeted by this ad on a jumbotron at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The spoof beer ad produced by the Marijuana Policy Project -- http://www.mpp.org -- highlights the relative safety of marijuana compared to alcohol by characterizing marijuana as a "new 'beer'" with "no calories," "no hangovers," and "no violence" associated with its use."

By using a comparative strategy, this ad represents marijuana as safer than alcohol in attempts to persuade audiences to support legalization. Arguments against this ad include the lack of empirical data of health statistics supporting this message. In it's defense, the ad is meant to be more of a parody than a statistical message. However, it is still in danger of myth building and is problematic in that it does not use data to support it's message.

[micahlevimelissa]

This news media debate presents good arguments for and against pot. We need more media like this: balanced, factual, and open for dialogue.

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"Josh will sift through the propaganda, fear and greed encompassing medical marijuana. Recently featured on CNN, Josh and his brothers developed a non-psychotropic strain of marijuana which is drastically reducing seizures for many pediatric epilepsy patients in Colorado. With millions facing life-threatening illnesses, Josh outlines the hurdles needed to effect social change and maps a path toward helping those who desperately need revolutionary medicine."

Josh urges for Americans to think about legalizing medical marijuana in every state to save lives.

[micahlevimelissa]

The Racist War on Drugs

"Ethan Nadlemann argues that the prohibition of countless drugs have consistently racist underpinnings. Nadelmann is the Executive Director for the Drug Policy Alliance."

Historically, the war on drugs has had little to do with health issues and everything to do with political issues tied to race, class and even gender.

[micahlevimelissa]

A clip from the 2002 movie Slackers portraying a drug-induced trip.

An anti-culture to the strict political views on drugs, several movies have been made sensationalizing drug use such as Dazed and Confused (1993), Pineapple Express (2008) and many more iconic films.

This is a stark contrast to the representation of marijuana use seen in "Above the Influence" ad campaigns. America especially seems to either demonize drugs or glamorize them, with hardly an in between to the two extremes.

[micahlevimelissa]

"Since 2006, Mexico has militarized its “war on drugs,” backed by the United States. Examination of this drug war from a critical political economic angle suggests that the neoliberal reforms implemented in Mexico over the past several decades have increased the size of the drug industry and that drug war rhetoric facilitates the containment of popular opposition to neoliberal policies. U.S. popular culture has contributed to legitimizing the drug war and making it more acceptable to the U.S. public. An analysis of selected movies, television series, and a video game shows that the themes presented in these productions are very similar to those conveyed by U.S. government officials and mainstream analysts. Indeed, popular culture messages reflect elite views of U.S. foreign policy because the media-entertainment industry is itself part of the corporate establishment."

This article focuses on how the media-entertainment industry represents Mexico as a lawless land where violent drug traffickers roam free. It argues that this perpetuates stereotypes and normalizes U.S. intervention through programs like the Mérida Initiative. This fails to examine U.S. responsibility such as the role neoliberal reforms have played in increasing its size by creating an environment of weaker environmental and labor regulations. Media representation strengthens the link between drug use and violent criminal activity.

Mercille, Julien. “The Media-Entertainment Industry and the ‘War on Drugs’ in Mexico.” Latin American Perspectives 41, no. 2 (March 1, 2014): 110–29. doi:10.1177/0094582X13509790.

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An article discussing the debate on decriminalizing marijuana. It states that there is not enough empirical data on the effects of marijuana use for a clear right decision. In conclusion, the authors offer variables for change that could positively effect drug policies. First, they strongly urge changes in drug education at school and in communities. Second, they emphasize the importance of home education with family, especially when peer influence is great. Third, they call for education treatment programs in prison.

Oda Odabasi, Mehmet. “Decriminalizing Marijuana: Understanding Marijuana Debate through History and Policy.” European Scientific Journal 10 (January 1, 2014): 45+.

[micahlevimelissa]

"(This article's) aim is to focus on how the news media represent illegal drugs and drug users and their causal links with further criminal behaviour. The article proposes that news media and governmental beliefs mirror each other and have both adopted a stance that serious or `problematic' drug use is dangerous and causes further criminality. It also asserts that both media coverage and policy direction are disproportionately aimed at specific stereotypes of drug users and drug-using offenders, to the point whereby simplistic notions have developed at the expense of a much wider and more complex discussion to the detriment of a holistic drugs discourse."

The way in which the media discusses illegal drugs and drug users often characterizes them as dangerous and "others" them from the rest of society. This is problematic because it prevents a more open and understanding dialogue over drug use to take place.