moral panic and drugs
Moral Panic about Drug Use
Moral panic can be defined as a process of arousing intense feelings about an issue by making an awareness of a moral danger that threatens social stability through dissemination of exaggerated fear mainly through the media, in a society. The obstructions to the fear are erected through legislation. The exaggerated fears are created by politicians and to some extent the elite in the society. The issue of social concern is portrayed to be a taboo and a threat to the social order. This leads to hostility towards the issue and actions taken toward the social issue are disproportional to the threat. The media play a significant role in the dissemination of moral panic by ensuring the masses are not involved in the decision-making process. The dissemination of moral panic is achieved through frequent scare stories, and without allowing public deliberation about the issue. Under such circumstances, the majorities are left confused by the issue and legislations propose the only solution to curb the threat. In addition, no direct experiences of the threat are elaborated, as the majorities in a population are made to belief vague and untrue information to arouse fear of the perceived threat that does not exist in reality (Feeney 1). In this paper, the author evaluates the moral panic about drug use.
The dangers of the perceived threat are orchestrated by the elite people in the society and propagated through the media. In the society, panic is aroused and if someone counters or stands against the exaggerated fear, the media strongly condemns such a person/entity. The reason for disseminating fear is to cause panic and show the masses that only the state can deal with the issue through legislations. An example of a moral panic related to drug use was orchestrated by the media in 1995. This was after the death of Leah Betts as the result of taking ecstasy (Wood 1).
At the time of Leah Betts death, Ecstasy was a new drug whose side
Moral panic can be defined as a process of arousing intense feelings about an issue by making an awareness of a moral danger that threatens social stability through dissemination of exaggerated fear mainly through the media, in a society. The obstructions to the fear are erected through legislation. The exaggerated fears are created by politicians and to some extent the elite in the society. The issue of social concern is portrayed to be a taboo and a threat to the social order. This leads to hostility towards the issue and actions taken toward the social issue are disproportional to the threat. The media play a significant role in the dissemination of moral panic by ensuring the masses are not involved in the decision-making process. The dissemination of moral panic is achieved through frequent scare stories, and without allowing public deliberation about the issue. Under such circumstances, the majorities are left confused by the issue and legislations propose the only solution to curb the threat. In addition, no direct experiences of the threat are elaborated, as the majorities in a population are made to belief vague and untrue information to arouse fear of the perceived threat that does not exist in reality (Feeney 1). In this paper, the author evaluates the moral panic about drug use.
The dangers of the perceived threat are orchestrated by the elite people in the society and propagated through the media. In the society, panic is aroused and if someone counters or stands against the exaggerated fear, the media strongly condemns such a person/entity. The reason for disseminating fear is to cause panic and show the masses that only the state can deal with the issue through legislations. An example of a moral panic related to drug use was orchestrated by the media in 1995. This was after the death of Leah Betts as the result of taking ecstasy (Wood 1).
At the time of Leah Betts death, Ecstasy was a new drug whose side
Cited: Feeney, Chekov. "Drugs, bail and moral panics-a response." 2013. Web. 23 January 2014. . Web document. Toynbee, Polly. "A heroine amid the drugs hysteria; The vilified social worker who claimed Ecstasy is relatively safe should be praised for being sensible; Public people cannot speak honestly about drugs and hope to live." The Independent Wednesday 17 April 1996: Online. Online Newspaper. Wood, Matthew. "Moral Panics." 2013. Web. 23 January 2014. .